Vir alle praktiese doeleindes dit lyk soos 'n blou vlinder (as in subfamilie Polyommatinae)… dit is baie, baie blou na al. Maar aannames op grond van kleur sou die verkeerde pad lei jy af; soos dit blyk uit hierdie vlinder is eintlik 'n spesie koper. Daar is subtiele verskil in die vleuel vorm en waarskynlik bearing, but when I first saw these butterflies I assumed they were a sub-species of Plebejus icarioides (watter were ook flying at this location on the Kaibab Plateau). But then I began seeing female butterflies (onder) interacting with these blues and then it dawned on me – blue copper – Lycaena heteronea austin (Kleine Pages: Lycaeninae)!
This subspecies was originally described in 1998 by the late, puik George T. Austin as Die. heteronea rutila. Given however that rutila more or less = rutilus, it was later determined rutila was actually unavailable and the subspecies name was changed to austin in honor of George.
male Lycaena heteroena austin (Kleine Pages)
female Lycaena heteroena austin
What a beauftiful picture !
I like the picture so bad
Do you have any picture similar with that ?
Impressive. Certainly a trick to trip up beginners!