Appearance
The bog copper is the smallest North American copper. The upper side of the males wings is dark gray-brown with a purplish sheen . The male has very few black basal spots on the fore wing. The hind wing outer margin has orange markings. The upper side of the females wings is very similar to the males except the female has a lighter purplish iridescence. The underside of the wings in both sexes varies from whitish-gray to yellowish-tan. The wingspan measures 2.2–2.5 cm .Naming
Similar species in the bog copper's range include the purplish copper and the dorcas copper . Another butterfly that is similar to the ''Lycaena epixanthe'' is the ''Lycaena hetereonea'', except the blue color is on the upper side and the brown color is on the underside of the wing.The purplish copper is larger, the female has a lot of orange on the upper side, and both sexes have a conspicuous orange submarginal line on the upper side of the hind wing.
The dorcas is larger, the male has more black spots on the upper side, the female has more orange on the upper side, and the underside of the wings is pinkish-brown or tan with a red-orange hind wing submarginal line.
Behavior
Males perch on low foliage all day from 10:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. to await females. If a male sees a female passing by, he will pursue her. When she lands, the male will land behind her, vibrate his wings, and then they will mate. If the female has already mated or does not want to mate, she will vibrate her wings and then the male will leave. Females lay their eggs singly on the underside of host plant leaves a few inches above the bog surface. The whitish egg can withstand flooding. The larva is bluish-green with a darker green middorsal stripe. The bog copper larva is the only copper that feeds on cranberries. The chrysalis is pale yellow-green to green with brown and white markings. Rarely, the chrysalis can be solid dark purple. The egg overwinters, usually under water with the larva fully developed inside. It has 1 brood per year.Habitat
The only habitat in which bog coppers occur are acid bogs with cranberries. Thus conservation of acid bog habitats is essential for this butterfly.Food
The larvae feed upon shrubby cranberries in the heath family .Here is a list of host plants used by the bog copper:
⤷ Large cranberry, ''Vaccinium macrocarpon''
⤷ Small cranberry, ''Vaccinium oxycoccos''
The adults feed on water and nectar from cranberry flowers.
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