Lycaena phlaeas
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
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 from the Greek φλέγω (phlégo), "to burn up", or from the Latin floreo, "to flourish".
The upperside forewings are a bright orange with a dark outside edge border and with eight or nine black spots. The hindwings are dark with an orange border. Some females also have a row of blue spots inside the orange border and are known as form caeruleopunctata. The undersides are patterned in a similar way but are paler. The black spots on the forewings are outlined in yellow and the dark colouring is replaced by a pale brownish grey. The hindwings are the same brown/grey colour with small black dots and a narrow orange border. The caterpillars (larvae) are usually green, but some have a purple stripe down the middle of the back and along each side.
It is a holarctic species, widespread and common across Europe, Asia, North America, and also found in North Africa south through to Ethiopia. It can be found almost anywhere in south/central... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 2 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 3 | Kiskunság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 4 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 5 | Monfragüe National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 6 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 7 | Hortobágy National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 8 | Doñana National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 9 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 10 | Biebrza National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 11 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 12 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 13 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 14 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 15 | Hohe Tauern National Park | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 16 | Cairngorms National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 17 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | |
| 18 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Small Copper sighting in Rome on a given day, based on 40 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 27th most-seen of the 289 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March–May and October
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Small Copper in Rome on a given day, against under 5% in December to February, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Small Copper sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
26th of 55
Of the 55 cities where we can rate Small Copper sightings, Rome ranks 26th at about 10%. The best odds are in Nagoya (Japan, about 30%), Tianjin (China, about 30%) and Gwangju (South Korea, about 30%).
Same family: Lycaenidae
The closest relatives of the Small Copper that you can see in Rome (family Lycaenidae, Gossamer-winged Butterflies) are Geranium Bronze (about 20%), Common Blue (about 10%) and Lang's Short-Tailed Blue (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Small Copper is recorded against all the insects logged in Rome (40 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
