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20 November 2020

Small Copper - Tanoumah

Whilst birdwatching in the Tanoumah area in the mountains of the west of the Kingdom I came across a couple of Small Copper butterflies Lycaena phlaeas shima in various locations. The Small Copper is a fast flying butterfly that, once settled, is unmistakable with its bright copper-coloured forewings. 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. 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, gray. The hindwings are the same brown/grey colour with small black dots and a narrow orange border. It is widespread and common across Europe, Asia, and North America, and also found in North Africa south through to Ethiopia.   
Small Copper

Small Copper

Small Copper

Small Copper

Small Copper

Small Copper