''Lycaena'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

butterflies 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 ...

. The genus range is

Holarctic The Holarctic realm is a biogeographic realm that comprises the majority of habitats found throughout the continents in the Northern Hemisphere. It corresponds to the floristic Boreal Kingdom. It includes both the Nearctic zoogeographical region ...

, with the exception of four species found in New Zealand, two in South Africa, one in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

and one in

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...

. It is commonly divided into several subgenera, such as '' Antipodolycaena''. Many formerly independent genera are now subsumed within ''Lycaena''; the genus ''Gaiedes'' may also belong here. Many of the subgenera, species groups and species listed here may be

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

Species

Listed alphabetically within groups:''Lycaena''
funet.fi
Subgenus ''Tharsalea'' Scudder, 1876: *''

Lycaena arota ''Lycaena arota'', the tailed copper, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in North America from New Mexico north and west to Oregon, south to southern California and Baja California, Mexico. The average wingspan ranges from 30� ...

'' (Boisduval, 1852) – tailed copper Subgenus ''Chalceria'' Scudder, 1876:
The ''thaeides'' species group: *'' Lycaena dione'' (Scudder, 1868) *''

Lycaena editha ''Lycaena editha'', known generally as the Edith's copper or great gray copper, is a species of copper in the butterfly family Lycaenidae Lycaenidae is the second-largest family of butterflies (behind Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflies), ...

'' (Mead, 1878) – Edith's copper California, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada *''

Lycaena gorgon ''Lycaena gorgon'', known generally as the gorgon copper or stream water-crowfoot, is a species of copper in the butterfly family Lycaenidae Lycaenidae is the second-largest family of butterflies (behind Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflie ...

'' (Boisduval, 1852) – gorgon copper Nevada, California, Oregon *''

Lycaena xanthoides ''Lycaena xanthoides'', the great copper, is a species of copper in the butterfly family Lycaenidae Lycaenidae is the second-largest family of butterflies (behind Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflies), with over 6,000 species worldwide, wh ...

'' (Boisduval, 1852) – great gray copper California The ''chalceria'' species group: *''

Lycaena ferrisi ''Lycaena'' is a genus of butterflies. The genus range is Holarctic, with the exception of four species found in New Zealand, two in South Africa, one in New Guinea and one in Java. It is commonly divided into several subgenera, such as '' Antipo ...

'' Johnson & Balogh, 1977 – Ferris' copper Arizona *''

Lycaena heteronea The blue copper, also known as ''Lycaena heteronea'', is an American butterfly that belongs to the gossamer-winged family. The butterfly is named so because of the bright blue hue of the upper side of the males' wings. Females are brown on thei ...

'' Boisduval, 1858 – blue copper *''

Lycaena rubidus ''Lycaena rubidus'', the ruddy copper, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in the western mountains of North America.Lycaena hyllus ''Lycaena hyllus'', the bronze copper, is a butterfly of the lycaenids family found in North America.Jim P. Brock and K. Kaufman. Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America, New York, NY:Houghton Mifflin, 2003.775 __NOTOC__ Year 775 (Roman numerals, DCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 775 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domi ...

– bronze copper The ''epidemia'' species group: *'' Lycaena dorcas'' Kirby, 1837 – dorcas copper or cinquefoil copper *'' Lycaena dospassosi'' McDunnough, 1940 *''

Lycaena epixanthe ''Lycaena epixanthe'', the bog copper or cranberry-bog copper, is a North American butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. Adults like to sip drops of dew clinging to leaves and almost exclusively nectar on their host plant, cranberries. Because o ...

'' (Boisduval & Leconte,

835 __NOTOC__ Year 835 ( DCCCXXXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian Calendar. Events By place Europe * Ragnar Lodbrok, a Norse Viking ruler, rises to power. He becomes the scourge of ...

– bog copper, cranberry-bog copper *''

Lycaena helloides ''Lycaena helloides'', the purplish copper, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in North America from the Great Lakes area to British Columbia, south to Baja California. The wingspan is 30–38 mm. The upper surface of th ...

'' (Boisduval, 1852) – purplish copper *''

Lycaena nivalis ''Lycaena nivalis'', the lilac-bordered copper or nivalis copper,Lycaena mariposa ''Lycaena mariposa'', the mariposa copper, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in western Canada and the United States.Lycaena hermes ''Lycaena hermes'', the Hermes copper, is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Mexico and southern California in the United States. It is known from a small number of areas. Forest fires in the San Diego area in 2003 an ...

'' (Edwards, 1870) – Hermes copper Subgenus ''Antipodolycaena'' Smart, 1975: *''

Lycaena boldenarum ''Lycaena boldenarum'', the boulder copper, is a species of butterfly which is endemic to New Zealand, it is found on both North Island and South Island in a wide variety of open habitats including grassland, shingle and sand dunes. They are n ...

'' White, 1862 New Zealand *'' Lycaena feredayi'' (Bates, 1867) – glade copper *''

Lycaena rauparaha ''Lycaena rauparaha'', Rauparaha's copper, Fereday’s copper or mokarakare is a species of butterfly endemic to New Zealand. It acquired its English common name because it occurred in the same coastal areas as the rangatira (chief) and war lead ...

'' (Fereday, 1877) New Zealand *'' Lycaena salustius'' (Fabricius, 1793) – common copper Unnamed subgenus:
The ''heodes'' species group: *'' Lycaena ottomanus'' (Lefèbvre, 1830) – Grecian copper *''

Lycaena tityrus ''Lycaena tityrus'', the sooty copper, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Europe. Subspecies *''Lycaena tityrus subalpina'' (Speyer, 1851) Italy The wingspan is . The butterfly flies from April to September, depending on th ...

'' (Poda, 1761) – sooty copper *''

Lycaena virgaureae The scarce copper (''Lycaena virgaureae'') is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae (copper or gossamer-winged butterflies). Appearance The lower surfaces of the back wings are yellowish and have only a few black dots; there are characteristic wh ...

'' (Linnaeus, 1758) – scarce copper The ''palaeochrysophanus'' species group: *''

Lycaena candens ''Lycaena candens'' is a small butterfly found in the Palearctic (Southeast Europe and Caucasus) that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family. Subspecies * ''L. c. leonhardi'' (Fruhstorfer, 1917) * ''L. c. pfeifferi'' (Beuret, 1952) Caucasus, ...

'' (Herrich-Schäffer,

844 __NOTOC__ Year 844 ( DCCCXLIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – Battle of Mauropotamos: A Byzantine expedition under ...

South Europe, Caucasus, Transcaucasia *'' Lycaena hippothoe'' (Linnaeus, 1761) – purple-edged copper Subgenus ''Lycaena'' Fabricius, 1807:
The ''helle'' species group: *''

Lycaena helle ''Lycaena helle'', the violet copper, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found from the Pyrenees to northern Norway and from Belgium east across the Palearctic to Central Asia, Siberia and Amur.The wingspan The wingspan (or just ...

'' ( chiffermüller 1775) – violet copper *'' Lycaena irmae'' Bailey, 1932 South Tibet *'' Lycaena li'' (Oberthür, 1886) West China *'' Lycaena ouang'' (Oberthür, 1891) Yunnan *'' Lycaena pang'' (Oberthür, 1886) West China, Tibet *'' Lycaena svenhedini'' (Nordström, 1935) China *'' Lycaena tseng'' (Oberthür, 1886) North Burma to West China The ''phlaeas'' species group: *'' Lycaena cupreus'' (Edwards, 1870) – lustrous copper *'' Lycaena kiyokoae'' Sakai, 1978 Afghanistan *''

Lycaena phlaeas ''Lycaena phlaeas'', the small copper, American copper, or common copper, is a butterfly of the Lycaenids or gossamer-winged butterfly family. According to Guppy and Shepard (2001), its specific name ''phlaeas'' is said to be derived either ...

'' (Linnaeus, 1761) – small copper, common copper, American copper *'' Lycaena sichuanica'' Bozano & Weidenhoffer, 2001 The ''thersamolycaena'' species group: *'' Lycaena aeolus'' Wyatt, 1961 West Pamirs, Afghanistan *'' Lycaena aeolides'' (Churkin, 1999) Gissar Range, Central Asia *'' Lycaena alciphron'' (Rottemburg, 1775) – purple-shot copper *'' Lycaena dispar'' (Haworth, 1802) – large copper *''

Lycaena splendens ''Lycaena'' is a genus of butterflies. The genus range is Holarctic, with the exception of four species found in New Zealand, two in South Africa, one in New Guinea and one in Java. It is commonly divided into several subgenera, such as '' Antipo ...

'' (Staudinger, 1881)

Dzhungarsky Alatau The Dzungarian Alatau ( mn, Зүүнгарын Алатау, ''Züüngaryn Alatau''; ; kk, Жетісу Алатауы, ''Jetısu Alatauy''; russian: Джунгарский Алатау, ''Dzhungarskiy Alatau'') is a mountain range that lies on t ...

, Tian-Shan (Central Asia) *'' Lycaena violaceus'' (Staudinger, 1892) The ''thersamonia'' species group: *'' Lycaena aditya'' (Moore,

875 __NOTOC__ Year 875 ( DCCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * August 12 – Emperor Louis II dies in Brescia, after having named his c ...

West Pamirs, Afghanistan, Pakistan, North India *'' Lycaena alaica'' (Grum-Grshimailo, 1888) Pamirs-Alai,

Gissar Range Hisar Range ( tg, Қаторкӯҳи Ҳисор; uz, Hisor tizmasi, russian: Гиссарский хребет; uk, Ґаторкугі Гісор; fa, رشته‌کوه حصار; also known as Hissar, Hisor, or Gissar Range) is a mountain range ...

, North east Afghanistan *'' Lycaena alpherakyi'' (Grum-Grshimailo, 1888) East Pamirs, Northwest China *'' Lycaena attila'' (Zhdanko, 1990) Zaalaisky Mountains (Trans-Ili Alatau) Central Asia *'' Lycaena asabinus'' (Herrich-Schäffer,

851 __NOTOC__ Year 851 ( DCCCLI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Asia * Bagrat II Bagratuni, Armenian prince and leader of a rebellion against the Abbasi ...

Turkey, Transcaucasia, Iran, Armenia *'' Lycaena hyrcana'' (Neuburger, 1903) North Iran to Central Asia *'' Lycaena kurdistanica'' (Riley, 1921) Armenia, Northeast Turkey, West Iran *'' Lycaena lampon'' Lederer,

870 __NOTOC__ Year 870 ( DCCCLXX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * August 8 – Treaty of Meerssen: King Louis the German forces his half-broth ...

Kopet-Dagh, Southeast Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan *'' Lycaena ochimus'' (Herrich-Schäffer,

Transcaucasia, Armenia, Caucasus Minor, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Talysh Mountains (Iran - Azerbaijan) *'' Lycaena phoebus'' (Blachier, 1905) – Moroccan copper Morocco *'' Lycaena solskyi'' Erschoff, 1874 Pamirs to Alay Mountains, Gissar Range,

Darvaz Range The Darvaz Range or Darvoz Range ( tg, пуштаи Дарвоз) is a mountain range in the Western Pamirs, in Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of Tajikistan. Its name derives from the historical region of Darvaz. ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' ...

, Tian-Shan, Kashmir, Samarkand *'' Lycaena thersamon'' (Esper, 1784) – lesser fiery copper *''

Lycaena thetis ''Lycaena thetis'', the golden copper, is a small butterfly found in Greece, Asia Minor - Armenia (highlands), Iraq, Iran, Baluchistan, Chitral and Ladak that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family. Description from Seitz C. thetis Klug ( ...

'' Klug, 1834 – fiery copper or golden copper The ''phoenicurusia'' species group: *'' Lycaena margelanica'' (Staudinger, 1881) South Tajikistan to Tien-Shan, Gissar Range, Darvaz, Alay, West Pamir, Babatag,

Karatau Karatau ( kz, Қаратау, ''Qaratau'') is an administrative center in the Talas region located in the Jambyl Region in the south of Kazakhstan. It has an estimated population of roughly 30,000 in 1999. , the population is now 27,667. The la ...

, Teriklitau, Rangontau, Zailiisky Alatau, Lake Issyk-Kul mountains The ''hyrcanana'' species group: *'' Lycaena caspius'' (Lederer, 1869)

Kopet-Dagh The Köpet Dag, Kopet Dagh, or Koppeh Dagh ( tk, Köpetdag; fa, کپه‌داغ), also known as the Turkmen-Khorasan Mountain Range, is a mountain range on the border between Turkmenistan and Iran that extends about along the border southeast o ...

, Gissar Range, North Iran, Afghanistan *'' Lycaena ophion'' Hemming, 1933 Kopet-Dagh, Gissar Range to Darvaz Tadzhikistan *'' Lycaena pamira'' (Nekrutenko, 1983) *'' Lycaena sartha'' (Staudinger, 1886) Gissar Range to Darvaz, Pamirs to Alay mountains, Northeast Afghanistan *'' Lycaena sultan'' (Lang, 1884) West Gissar Range (Zeravshansky, Ghissarsky, Baisuntau, Fanskie) Unknown species group: *'' Lycaena bathinia'' Snellen, 1899 dubious Java *''

Lycaena clarki ''Lycaena clarki'', the eastern sorrel copper, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found only in South Africa. The wingspan is 21–27 mm in males and 22–30 mm in females. The butterfly flies year-round, peaking in summer ...

'' Dickson, 1971 – eastern sorrel copper *'' Lycaena evansii'' (de Nicéville, 1902) Kashmir, Chitral *'' Lycaena kasyapa'' (Moore, 1865) – green copper *'' Lycaena orus'' (Stoll,

780 __NOTOC__ Year 780 ( DCCLXXX) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 780 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Euro ...

– western sorrel copper *'' Lycaena ottomanus'' (Lefèbvre, 1830) *'' Lycaena pallida'' Miskin, 1891 New Guinea *'' Lycaena panava'' (Westwood, 1852) *''Lycaena pavana'' (Kollar,

– white-bordered copper North India *''Lycaena standfussi'' (Grum-Grshimailo, 1891) West China, Tibet *''Lycaena susanus'' (Swinhoe, 1889) Baluchistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan *''

'' Poda, 1761 – sooty copper *''

'' (Linnaeus, 1758) – scarce copper *''Lycaena zariaspa'' (Moore, 1874) West Himalayas, Kashmir, Northwest India

References

External links

images representing ''Lycaena''
at Consortium for the Barcode of Life {{Taxonbar, from=Q258719 Lycaena, Lycaeninae Lycaenidae genera Taxa named by Johan Christian Fabricius