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Lycaena virgaureae


Lycaena virgaureae
Photo Information
Copyright: Livio Carroccia (livius) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 179 W: 0 N: 300] (1169)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2008-08-21
Categories: Insects
Camera: Nikon D50 Digital SLR, Sigma 18-200mm f 3.5-6.3 DC OS Hsm
Exposure: f/9.0, 1/500 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2008-09-19 4:08
Viewed: 631
Points: 20
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Lycaenidae
Subfamily: Lycaeninae
Genus: Lycaena
Species: L. virgaureae

Binomial name
Lycaena virgaureae(Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
Heodes virgaureae
The scarce copper (Lycaena virgaureae) is a butterfly of the copper or gossamer-winged butterfly family.
·
Appearance
Underside of the wing of the scarce copper
The lower surfaces of the back wings are yellowish and have only a few black dots; there are characteristic white marks the immediate vicinity of these. The species exhibits one kind of sexual dimorphism: male butterflies are colored bright gold-red on the upper side of wing, while the females have broader orange wings with a dark design.
Life cycle
A generation appears from mid-July to mid-September.
Eggs are laid on dried-out plant parts, for example on dry sorrel stems. The eggs are white in color and somewhat larger than those of other Lycaena species. The caterpillars are green and nocturnal and eat sorrel. Lycaena virgaureae is the only species of this genus whose eggs last over the winter. The butterflies feed on blossoms of such plants as the ground-elder, eupatorium, valeriana, and burnet saxifrage.
Habitat
Lycaena virgaureae lives preferably on flower-rich, dry and damp meadows in Central Europe. In Spain it is found in the Pyrenees and in the Cantabrian Mountains. In southern France it is found in the Massif Central. Its area of distribution reaches the Arctic Circle in Fennoscandia in the north; in the south it reaches north and northwest Greece. It is not found, however, on the British Isles, in Belgium, or the Netherlands. It can be found as far east as Mongolia. The scarce copper is found at elevations of 1,000 to 2,000 meters.
Subspecies
·Lycaena virgaureae montanus Meyer-Dür, 1851. Found in the Alps in France, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, and Austria at elevations of 1,700–2,000 meters.
·Lycaena virgaureae miegii Vogel, 1857. North and central Spain at elevations of 600–1,600 meters.
(Wikipedia)

Heodes virgaureae
La Heodes virgaureae è una licenide caratterizzata da uno spiccato dimorfismo sessuale, con il maschio dalle ali di un bel colore rosso metallico, e la femmina che presenta invece ampie zone marroni. Ampiamente diffusa in Europa centrale e orientale, in Italia è presente sulle Alpi e sull'Appennino centro-settentrionale.
Il volo della farfalla, presente nei mesi di giugno e luglio a seconda delle condizioni climatiche e dell'altitudine può divenire piuttosto rapido in presenza di pericoli.
Nelle colonie più numerose gli sfarfallamenti in massa di maschi possono essere molto spettacolari a livello cromatico.
Alutka, rousettus, marhowie, gracious, goldyrs, jpdenk has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • siggi Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1376 W: 56 N: 4736] (16296)
  • [2008-09-19 4:56]

Hi Livio,
Very lovely image! colors,composition and details are all charming!
very well done and TFS!!
Siggi

Hello ,
Very beautiful capture of this little Lycaena in the white flower. Nice POV, sharp details and a nice soft background too. Well done!
TFS and best wishes,

Hi Livio,
Coppers very beautiful lycaenid butterflies. This species also very beautiful. You captured it on a composit flower with yellow and white. Contrasting great, focus, POV and composition also very nice. Thanks for sharing, best wishes
Ahmet

Ciao Livio, bella Lycaena, sei riuscito a tenerla tutta a fuoco nonostante la posizione e pur con una profondità di campo notevole sei riuscito a non bruciare iol bianco della margherita, so bene per esperienza che non è per niente facile, bravo, ciao Silvio

Hi Livio,
Nice color, exposure, and details.
I like the soft BG also.
Well done!
Howard

Ciao Livio,
This is truly a beautiful image of nature with very rich colouration!
good pose of the Copper with great sharpness and good details
well done
ciao
Tony

Love the excellent BG which brings out the sharp details of the subject, Livio!
Very well done!
Goldy

  • Great 
  • lousat Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1978 W: 6 N: 5527] (19673)
  • [2008-09-22 4:10]

Ciao Livio,non e' facile ottenere dei colori cosi' brillanti della farfallina su di uno sfondo fatto di petali terribilmente bianchi! Uno scatto da maestro,mi piace molto l'angolazione che hai scelto,complimenti e buona settimana,Luciano

Bonjour,
Un joli mélange. Le duo est bien mis en évidence.
Bonne journée.
clnaef

Hi Livio,

A very attractive image, nice composition and color, excellent detail.

Thanks,
John

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