The Lesser Fiery Copper is quite a striking butterfly  with a bright orange upperside that can easily catch the eye in flight. Unusually for Coppers, it sometimes possesses small ‘tails’ similar to those seen on Hairstreaks. I was quiet lucky to find a female in Transylvania, where this species is quite scarce. Colonies are often small and the species appears to rarely be abundant.

Distribution: Scattered in peninsular Italy and SE Europe as far north as Slovakia. It seems to be more abundant further south, in Greece for example. Found on the Greek islands of Kos, Thassos and Rhodes.

Flight Period: April-October in at least 2 broods.

Habitat: Warm meadows, field margins, sandy and rocky grasslands and scrub up to 1600m.

Foodplants: Knotgrass (Polygonum aviculare).

Nectar Sources: Mints (Mentha), thymes (Thymus) , Danewort (Sambucus ebulus), marjorams (Origanum), Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) and other small flowers.

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