National Moth Week is July 20-28, 2024!
Moths are amazing creatures. Take photographs and share your moth sightings with us to document the moths where you live.
Tailed Copper
Lycaena arota (Boisduval, 1852)
Family: Lycaenidae
Subfamily: Lycaeninae
Identification: Each hindwing of both sexes has a tail. Upper surface of male copper-brown with iridescent purple sheen; female with orange and dark brown pattern. Underside of both sexes gray; forewing with black spots, hindwing with black scrawls and a band of submarginal white crescents.
Wing Span: 1 1/8 - 1 3/8 inches (3 - 3.5 cm).
Life History: Males perch in open areas, often near watercourses or ravines, in the morning to watch for females. Eggs are laid singly on host plant or on debris under it, and hibernate until the following spring. Caterpillars eat leaves.
Flight: One flight from May-August.
Caterpillar Hosts: Leaves of gooseberry and currant (Ribes species) in the Grossulariaceae family.
Adult Food: Flower nectar.
Habitat: Open mixed woodland, sagebrush, chaparral.
Range: New Mexico north and west to Oregon, south to southern California and Baja California.
Conservation: Clouded copper, subspecies nubila, has greatly declined in the vicinity of Los Angeles, California. Lycaena arota nubila has The Nature Conservancy rank of T1 - Critically imperiled because of extreme rarity (5 or fewer occurrences, or very few remaining individuals), or because of some factor of its biology making it especially vulnerable to extinction. (Critically endangered throughout its range).
NCGR:
Management Needs: Conserve remaining habitat of clouded copper. Consider habitat rehabilitation and reintroduction.
Comments: NULL
Get your BAMONA Gear!
Please donate!
We depend on donations to keep Butterflies and Moths of North America freely available. We want to express our gratitude to all who showed their support by making a contribution this year. You can donate to support this project at any time.
Advertise with us!
Do you have a product or service that you think would interest BAMONA users? If you would like to advertise on this website, contact us by email, or use the contact form and select the "Advertising" category.
Verified Sightings
Displaying 1 - 24 of 386 verified sightings
Observation date: Jul 11, 2024
Submitted by: Paul Prappas
Region: Plumas County, California, United States
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Jul 11, 2024
Observation date: Jul 07, 2024
Submitted by: Marta Reece
Region: Torrance County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Jul 11, 2024
Observation date: Jun 19, 2024
Submitted by: ezeemonee
Region: Ventura County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Jun 22, 2024
Observation date: Jul 25, 2023
Submitted by: icosahedron
Region: Santa Clara County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Jun 16, 2024
Observation date: Jul 23, 2020
Submitted by: Robb Hannawacker
Region: San Juan County, Utah, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Sep 11, 2023
Observation date: Jul 27, 2023
Submitted by: ncrosbyrd
Region: El Paso County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Sep 09, 2023
Observation date: Jun 22, 2023
Submitted by: Robert Gorman
Region: San Diego County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 18, 2023
Observation date: Aug 13, 2023
Submitted by: Dobber31
Region: Mono County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 18, 2023
Observation date: Aug 15, 2023
Submitted by: shuckabone
Region: Siskiyou County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 16, 2023
Observation date: Jul 21, 2023
Submitted by: WYbutterflyer1
Region: Jefferson County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Jul 25, 2023
Observation date: Jul 20, 2023
Submitted by: Jon Kindschy
Region: Gunnison County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Jul 25, 2023
Observation date: Jul 21, 2023
Submitted by: topper72
Region: Sandoval County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Jul 22, 2023
Observation date: Jun 21, 2023
Submitted by: Dobber31
Region: San Mateo County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Jun 22, 2023
Observation date: May 26, 2022
Submitted by: Dobber31
Region: San Mateo County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Nov 01, 2022
Observation date: Aug 22, 2022
Submitted by: MAKI
Region: Lincoln County, Nevada, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Oct 11, 2022
Observation date: Aug 14, 2022
Submitted by: Chrustay
Region: Cibola County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Aug 18, 2022
Observation date: Aug 14, 2022
Submitted by: tjay13
Region: Sandoval County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Aug 18, 2022
Observation date: Jul 12, 2022
Submitted by: twofried
Region: Taos County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Jul 16, 2022
Observation date: Jul 09, 2022
Submitted by: DeepSkyKelly
Region: Colfax County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Jul 13, 2022
Observation date: May 27, 2021
Submitted by: yhelfman
Region: Santa Clara County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Mar 30, 2022
Observation date: Aug 01, 1981
Submitted by: stevecary
Region: Colfax County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Mar 19, 2022
Observation date: Jul 16, 1994
Submitted by: stevecary
Region: Mora County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Mar 19, 2022
Observation date: Jun 30, 1985
Submitted by: stevecary
Region: Union County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Mar 19, 2022
Observation date: Jul 15, 2010
Submitted by: stevecary
Region: Union County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Mar 19, 2022
- 1 of 17
- next ›