''Lycaena mariposa'', the mariposa copper, is a

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

of the family

Lycaenidae Lycaenidae is the second-largest family of butterflies (behind Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflies), with over 6,000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies. They constitute about 30% of the known butterfl ...

. It is found in western Canada and the United States.Mariposa Copper
Butterflies of Canada The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

is 23–28 mm. Adults are on wing from mid-July to August. The larvae feed on ''

Vaccinium arbuscula ''Vaccinium cespitosum'' (also, ''caespitosum''), known as the dwarf bilberry, dwarf blueberry, or dwarf huckleberry, is a species of flowering shrub in the genus '' Vaccinium'', which includes blueberries, huckleberries, and cranberries. Descri ...

'' and ''

Polygonum douglasii ''Polygonum douglasii'' is a species of flowering plant in the knotweed family known by the common name Douglas's knotweed. It is native to much of northern and western North America, where it can be found in many types of habitat, including dis ...

''.

Subspecies

* '' Lycaena mariposa penroseae'' * '' Lycaena mariposa charlottensis''

References

mariposa Butterflies of North America Taxa named by Tryon Reakirt Butterflies described in 1866 {{Lycaeninae-stub