Dorcas Copper - Tharsalea dorcas
![[Dorcas Copper image]](img/010177.jpg "Dorcas Copper - nr Lake Ainslie, NS - 2012-07-31")
Photo © Jim Edsall
Status in Nova Scotia
Extremely rare. An isolated population exists in Inverness Co., Cape Breton. The Maritimes Butterfly Atlas S-rank for this species is "S1?:Extremely rare: May be especially vulnerable to extirpation (typically 5 or fewer occurrences or very few remaining individuals)".
Flight Period
Late July to early August.
Habitat
Fens where the larval food plant grows.
Larval Foodplants
Shrubby Cinquefoil, Potentilla fruticosa.
Similar Species in Nova Scotia
Similar to Maritime Copper but smaller, and habitat completely different.
Notes
Until recently, this species was known as "Lycaena dorcas".
Extremely rare. An isolated population exists in Inverness Co., Cape Breton. The Maritimes Butterfly Atlas S-rank for this species is "S1?:Extremely rare: May be especially vulnerable to extirpation (typically 5 or fewer occurrences or very few remaining individuals)".
Flight Period
Late July to early August.
Habitat
Fens where the larval food plant grows.
Larval Foodplants
Shrubby Cinquefoil, Potentilla fruticosa.
Similar Species in Nova Scotia
Similar to Maritime Copper but smaller, and habitat completely different.
Notes
Until recently, this species was known as "Lycaena dorcas".
The Journal of the Acadian Entomological Society published a paper on the first record of this species in Nova Scotia. You can read it on-line,
here.
Further Reading
- eButterfly.org: Nova Scotia records, Canada records
- iNaturalist.org: 8 Nova Scotia records, 1393 North America records
- The Butterflies of Canada
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