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Tag Archives: Lycaena phlaeas

149/366 My favourite butterfly

28 Thursday May 2020

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

British butterflies, butterfly, Lavernock Nature Reserve, Lycaena phlaeas, Small copper

The highlight of yesterday’s walk to Lavernock Nature Reserve was seeing this little beauty, my first Small copper of the year.

200528 small copper (1)

They’re tiny butterflies but they punch well above their weight, fearlessly challenging any other butterflies that stray too close to their territory, as this one did today with a male Common blue.

200528 small copper (2)

This Small copper was in pristine condition so, presumably, had very recently emerged. The vibrancy and intensity of its copper colour was simply stunning.

200528 small copper (3)

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The quickness of the wing

12 Sunday Aug 2018

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

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Tags

British butterflies, butterflies, butterfly, Lycaena phlaeas, Small copper

‘The quickness of the wing deceives the eye.’ So write Brett Westwood and Stephen Moss in their brilliant book Wonderland: A year of Britain’s wildlife day by day (John Murray, London, 2017). They’re describing those butterflies that ‘fly so haphazardly and so fast that they are little more than hallucinations, a flicker of motion at the edge of our vision, making us question whether we’ve seen one at all.’

180812 small copper (1)
180812 small copper (2)

The Small copper (Lycaena phlaeas) is one such butterfly but, I find, with a pinch of stealth, a sprinkle of luck and a tablespoonful of patience, it will settle and even pose for photos. And the outcome is no hallucination but rather a delicious creation, even a gourmet would admire.

180812 small copper (3)
180812 small copper (4)
180812 small copper (5)
180812 small copper (6)

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Butterfly bliss!

20 Sunday Aug 2017

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

British butterflies, butterflies, butterfly, Lycaena phlaeas, Small copper

It’s three weeks since I caught a fleeting glimpse – and shot some very shaky photos – of my first-ever Small copper butterfly (Lycaena phlaeas), and I’ve been keeping an eye out for them wherever I go ever since. Ten days ago, I saw another, briefly, but a man came walking along the path and scared it away just as I was lining up for better images. Then, four days ago, another of these little beauties popped up on a flower right in front of me at Cosmeston and I got some reasonable, though not sharp photos – the wind was howling across the field that day.

170820 Small Copper Cosmeston (1)
170820 Small Copper Cosmeston (2)
170820 Small Copper Cosmeston (3)

And, finally, two days ago, when I was revisiting one of my former haunts, the glorious old meadows near Llanishen Reservoir, I saw first two, then another one Small copper, and these were so busy feasting and ‘interacting’ that I was able to watch them for ages. Butterfly bliss!

170820 Small copper Llanishen (1)
170820 Small copper Llanishen (2)
170820 Small copper Llanishen (3)

170820 Small copper Llanishen (4)

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About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

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