Skipper Butterfly vs Scarce Copper

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Skipper Butterfly Scarce Copper
Scientific Name Epargyreus clarus Lycaena virgaureae
Order Lepidoptera Lepidoptera
Family Hesperiidae Lycaenidae
Size 44-67 mm wingspan 30-38 mm wingspan
Habitat Farmland Mountains
Diet Nectar Feeders Omnivores
Regions North America Europe, temperate Asia
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Skipper Butterfly

A stout-bodied butterfly with hooked antennae, brown wings with golden spots on the forewing, and a distinctive silver patch on the hindwing underside. It has a rapid, darting flight.

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Did You Know?

The caterpillar builds a silk-lined leaf shelter and can eject its droppings up to 150 centimeters away to avoid attracting parasitic wasps.

Scarce Copper

A brilliant fiery-orange butterfly with black-spotted forewings, the male being one of the most intensely coloured European butterflies. Females are more subdued with brown-spotted orange wings.

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Did You Know?

Males are so brilliantly orange they can be spotted from over 50 metres away in sunlit meadows.