Bright copper

Paralucia aurifer

The bright copper is a butterfly belonging to the family Lycaenidae.
Bright Copper - female With a wingspan of 30 mm, this small lycaenid butterfly had dark purplish wing margins and bright orange patches on all four wings. The trailing hind wing margins were slightly scalloped with small crescents of pale blue. The underside appeared uniformly fawn-coloured. 
The rounded wing margins indicate that this butterfly is a female.
Spotted along a walking track fluttering amongst sweet bursaria plants. 
Notes:
Caterpillars of this species hide in the black ants' nests at the base of the bursaria plant, where they also pupate. They are tended to by black ants (Anonychomyrma nitidiceps).
This butterfly is only found in bushland where the spiny bushes are present and where there are host ant colonies - amazing interconnection. Australia,Bright copper,Geotagged,Paralucia aurifer,Summer

Appearance

The adult bright copper has a wingspan of 25 millimetres.

The flight season is from December to January.

The wings are dull brown on top with gold-orange triangles in the middle of each wing.

Distribution

It is found in eastern Australia including New South Wales, eastern Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory.

Habitat

It is found in eastern Australia including New South Wales, eastern Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory.The bright copper and the ant species "Anonychomyrma nitidiceps" form a complex symbiotic relationship on "Bursaria spinosa". Butterflies lay their eggs on the underside of the leaves, and the caterpillars feed on the leaves before pupating in the soil at the foot of the plant. The ants excavate chambers in the soil where the caterpillars sleep and later pupate, and accompany the caterpillars when the latter are feeding. They are thought to feed on the caterpillars' secretions.

References:

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Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionArthropoda
ClassInsecta
OrderLepidoptera
FamilyLycaenidae
GenusParalucia
SpeciesP. aurifer
Photographed in
Australia