In New England and the Northern states the short life of the larva enables this insect to mature three broods each season. Farther south there are probably more, for this species is widely distributed in eastern North America, occurring from Nova Scotia to Georgia and west to the Mississippi Valley.
The American Copper
Heodes hypophlaeas
This little butterfly is one of the most generally abundant insects in the northern part of North America. It commonly occurs from ocean to ocean, from the Hudson Bay region to the latitude of Georgia, and it flies freely in city parks and village yards as well as in the more open spaces of field and forest. When seen through a lens it is very beautifully colored, the coppery red of the wings being overspread with conspicuous black dots and a touch of orange around the outer border. The expanded wings measure just about an inch, so that this is one of the smallest of our common butterflies.
The caterpillars of the American Copper feed upon sorrel, one of the commonest weedy plants of waste places everywhere. The rusty red blossoms of the sorrel harmonize in color with the color of the butterfly, which is frequently to be seen flying slowly above the plants, stopping now and then to lay its eggs singly upon the leaves or stems. Each egg soon hatches into a curious caterpillar, which looks more like a slug than the usual type of butterfly larva. It feeds upon the succulent tissue of the sorrel leaf, at first biting small holes in the under surface. As it gets larger it feeds more freely and is likely to make channels instead of holes. It matures in about three weeks, changing into a chrysalis under the shelter of a stone or board. A little later it again changes to a butterfly.
There is an interesting variation in the number of broods of this butterfly each season. In regions where it has been studied it has been found to be double-brooded in northern New England and triple-brooded in southern New England and the Atlantic states. It is probable that in its far northern home in the Hudson Bay territory it is only single-brooded. It is thought that the insect hibernates as a chrysalis.
These little butterflies are so small and fly so near the ground that they are likely to be overlooked by the casual observer. They frequently alight to sun themselves or to sip nectar from many kinds of flowers. They begin their day's work early in the morning and continue well into the evening. Then they find a roosting-place, head downward upon a blade of grass, where they sleep until wakened by the morning sunshine.
From a drawing by W. I. Beecroft
The Spring Azure ([p. 258]) at the top; the Falcate Orange-Tip ([p. 94]) next; the Bronze Copper ([p. 257]), female, next; the Spring Azure ([p. 258]) resting on a leaf, next; and the Great Purple Hair-streak ([p. 243]), female, below.