Bog Copper / Lycaena epixanthe – Family Lycaenidae
Bog Copper butterflies are found exclusively in bogs where wild cranberry, their host plant, grows. Bog coppers will spend their entire lives in a single acid bog. They are important pollinators of both large and small wild cranberry plants. They nectar almost exclusively on cranberry flowers and drink dewdrops on the leaves and petals. Bog Coppers are rarely found in commercial cranberry farms as they are sensitive to pesticides and constant disruptions.
Host Plants for the Bog Copper Caterpillar
- Large cranberry, Vaccinium macrocarpon
- Small cranberry, Vaccinium oxycoccos
Nectar Plants for Bog Copper Butterflies
- Large cranberry, Vaccinium macrocarpon
- Small cranberry, Vaccinium oxycoccos
Bog Copper Butterflies
Sexual dimorphism: The upper side of the male Bog Copper is brown with a purplish sheen. There is a large, dark spot on his upper wing and several smaller spots. The female’s upper side is brown with a very faint purplish sheen. She has many small dark spots on her wings. The undersides of the Bog Copper’s wings are pale yellowish-grey with many dark spots and dashes.
Wingspan: 0.87” – 0.98” ( 2.2–2.5 cm)
Bog Copper butterflies are weak fliers and fly low and slowly over the acid bogs. Males will perch all day on the cranberry plants, awaiting a passing female. 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 mate. If the female has already mated or does not want to mate, she will vibrate her wings, and then the male will leave.
Flight/Broods: have one brood per year and fly from late June to the end of July.
Range
Southern Canada to New Jersey and the Great Lakes States.
Bog Copper Egg
Females lay their whitish eggs singly on the underside of host plant leaves, just a few inches above the water surface. If there is flooding in the bog, the eggs can survive long periods underwater. The larva develops within the egg and then enters diapause. It then overwinters and hatches in the Spring.
Bog Copper Caterpillar
The Bog Copper caterpillar is green with a darker green stripe down its back. The caterpillar excretes a nectar-like substance called honeydew onto its body surface. The honeydew attracts ants. The ants lick the sweet substance off the caterpillars while frequently tapping them so that they produce more honeydew. The ants will then protect, or at least try to protect, the caterpillars from any predators.
*The Northern Azure caterpillar is very similar in appearance to the Bog Copper caterpillar and has the same relationship with ants.
Bog Copper Chrysalis
The chrysalis is pale yellow-green to green with brown and white markings.
The Importance of Preserving Bogs
Bogs are freshwater wetlands filled with partially decayed plant material called peat. The water-logged conditions in a bog slow the decomposition of plants so much that instead of turning into soil like in our garden compost piles, the plants turn into peat that continues to store the carbon dioxide that the living plants store through photosynthesis. Bogs therefore store carbon dioxide, making them carbon sinks. Bogs also absorb a great deal of water and prevent flooding.
Bogs take thousands of years to develop and are mostly found in cool, northern climates. They are oxygen and nutrient-poor, making them acidic and lower in biodiversity than other wetland habitats. The plants and animals that live in the bog, such as the Bog Copper butterfly, have evolved to survive in the harsh bog environment.
When bogs are harvested for their peat or drained for development, not only is the habitat lost for all the plants and animals that live in the bog, but all the carbon stored in the bog is released into the atmosphere, causing atmospheric pollution and driving climate change.
If you have used peat moss in your garden, try using leaf litter and/or pine needles instead, and if you have a bog on your property or in your area, please protect and preserve it.
A Butterfly Garden – is a pollinator/wildlife garden. Never use herbicides or pesticides anywhere near a butterfly garden.
Look but do not touch – please do not buy butterfly kits or chrysalis from commercial breeders or home-reared butterflies. This is cruel to butterflies, can create unfit populations and spread diseases to the wild species.
Links to find out more about plants native to your area:
https://cwf-fcf.org/en/resources/encyclopedias/native-plant-encyclopedia
*Please subscribe to this blog for more posts on butterflies and native gardening.