Pepe Para Riki (Common Copper) vs Garden Grass-veneer

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Pepe Para Riki (Common Copper) Garden Grass-veneer
Scientific Name Lycaena salustius Chrysoteuchia culmella
Order Lepidoptera Lepidoptera
Family Lycaenidae Crambidae
Size 20-30 mm wingspan 20-26 mm wingspan
Habitat Beaches & Coastal Gardens
Diet Nectar Feeders Root Feeders
Regions Oceania (New Zealand) Europe, Northern Asia
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Pepe Para Riki (Common Copper)

New Zealand's most common endemic butterfly, a small copper-coloured species found in open habitats throughout the country. Males are bright coppery-orange above while females are duller with more dark markings. Larvae feed on native Muehlenbeckia vines.

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Did You Know?

The common copper is the only representative of the family Lycaenidae native to New Zealand.

Garden Grass-veneer

A small straw-colored moth with a silvery sheen and prominent labial palps forming a snout. It is one of the commonest grass moths in European lawns.

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Did You Know?

Hundreds can be flushed from a single patch of lawn when walking through grass at dusk.