The upper side is dark brown, displaying metallic reflections when viewed in a strong light. The under side is represented in fig. 7 of [Plate VI].
The chief food plants of this species are the bramble (Rubus fruticosus), the birch (Betula alba), and the broom (Cytisus scoparius).
The perfect insect flies in May and June, and the eggs are deposited during the latter month on the above plants. The caterpillars are full fed in July, and change to the chrysalis state towards the end of the summer.
The colour of the caterpillar is pale green, with a yellow stripe and several white oblique lines along the sides, also a yellowish stripe down the back.
The chrysalis is short and thick, and of a dark brown colour.
The Large Copper (Polyommatus Dispar)
Our next genus contains only two British species. The first of these—the Large Copper—was once a common insect at Whittlesea in Cambridgeshire, and in some of the fens of Huntingdonshire, but is now feared to be quite extinct, as none have been seen for many years. The last capture was made in 1847 in Huntingdonshire. However, it may turn up again; and even if it does not, it would be a pity to allow the memory of so fine an insect to die out; so we find room to figure it ([Plate VI], fig. 8), and append a few remarks.
There is a very great difference between the male and the female. The former is of a brilliant copper hue, and all the wings have a black margin and a black streak near the middle. The female is larger; and the coppery colour is much redder. The black border of the fore wings is wider, and there are also several large black spots on these wings. The hind wings are almost entirely covered with black, with the exception of a broad coppery band near the hind margin.