Sweetheart Underwing vs Scarce Copper

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Sweetheart Underwing Scarce Copper
Scientific Name Catocala amatrix Lycaena virgaureae
Order Lepidoptera Lepidoptera
Family Erebidae Lycaenidae
Size 75-95 mm wingspan 30-38 mm wingspan
Habitat Woodlands Mountains
Diet Sap Feeders Omnivores
Regions Eastern North America from southern Canada to the southern United States Europe, temperate Asia
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Sweetheart Underwing

A large underwing moth with mottled gray-brown forewings and rosy-pink hindwings crossed by black bands. It is one of the most attractive members of the underwing genus.

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Did You Know?

Its scientific name amatrix means 'sweetheart' in Latin, referring to the rosy-pink color of its hidden hindwings.

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.