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Small Copper - Favourite Photo of 2024

Week 16

The week of diminutive! Which is what I said last year but when we get to the Smalls you know that the end is nearing!
Please could I ask that everyone waits until a topic has been opened by me for a particular species before posting photos as then it will be easier to keep track of things? Of course our overseas members are very welcome to fill in the obvious gaps relating to rare UK migrants. As in previous years details of locations, dates, times and circumstances would be welcome as would any accompanying stories and anecdotes or other observations of behaviour and interesting other points.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Small coppers were a scarce species for me in 2024. I seen around half a dozen on a sunny day in Grantown on Spey on 18th May.

Bert.

During 2024 Small Copper were not as common in terms of numbers at each site as previous years, although I saw them in more locations. They came 26th in abundance for my recorded sightings within Essex with 53. They were bottom of the table for the "common" species. However, I had some good moments with the Small Copper. This moment was my favourite. I have a sequence of 15 photographs of a female ovipositing low down in some grass where she found a bramble shoot and laid her ova. Not only that, she showed me both her upperwings and underwings. She was far too preoccupied to care that I was following her every movement:
As with the other 34 species, I will go into more details in The Butterflies of Essex 2024 Year in Review shortly in my PD

This fairly dark specimen, seen in late July at Rhossili, was my favourite:

A disastrous year for Small Copper around my patch were it took until September to find one. I think it was a late second brood rather than a third brood, especially given the poor summer we had and the fact that we only get third brood examples here in the best seasons.
This was the only example I saw locally all year and I only saw a couple more elsewhere during the year, a tatty one on The Lizard in early August and one on Bindon Hill in early September.
From what I saw reported online, it would appear that they had a bit of a late recovery in some locations that enjoy a regular third brood. I have also read that they did better on lighter soils where they breed on sheep sorrel but crashed at sites on heavier soils (like mine) where they breed on common sorrel.

Cheers,

Neil

A very late recovery with their third brood in the south gave me this rather fine caeruleopunctata form (I refuse to accept caeruleopunctata as an ab by any definition!)

Numbers of Small Coppers were slightly down on 23 at Dungeness(in 24') ,that said We still had a pretty high count of 315 on the 21st May .The first of the season was 6 on the 12th April, and late October the last. they also appeared in fair numbers at another local "Hotspot" at Hothfield Common but were hard to find away from the two mentioned sites ,heres a few ,all bar one from Dungeness. I,ve also included a final instar larva.......always like to rear one or two.

Nice selection there, Allan.

Thanks David !

Locally for me in South Bedfordshire it was a disatrous year for the Small Copper with only Eight individual sightings in 2024. On my local patch I think I had only the one individual sighting that I presume was the same Small Copper seen daily in the same territory for 9 days from 1-9th May - Then a re-appearance on the patch of a worn out Small Copper on 23rd May... I was thinking this is possibly the same individual? If so 23 days on the wing was a good innings.

David T wrote: ↑Sun Feb 02, 2025 4:46 pm Then a re-appearance on the patch of a worn out Small Copper on 23rd May... I was thinking this is possibly the same individual? If so 23 days on the wing was a good innings.20240501_163708 Small Copper.jpg20240508_150149 Small Copper.jpg20240523_135557 Small Copper.jpg

I believe they are two different ones David, after comparing the spots on the upper wings (and how far they extend to the wing margin/border) but am open to correction. Nice photos!

Zayed

Small Copper

This was taken at Martin Down during mid-August whilst I was looking for a Chalkhill Blues and I chose it because I liked the look of the ‘tails’ sticking out the back of the hind wings. This might not seem like the most apposite of reasons but to be honest I really struggled with this species this year as they didn’t have a particularly good season to my mind…
Have a goodun

Wurzel

essexbutterflyer wrote: ↑Sun Feb 02, 2025 5:13 pm

David T wrote: ↑Sun Feb 02, 2025 4:46 pm Then a re-appearance on the patch of a worn out Small Copper on 23rd May... I was thinking this is possibly the same individual? If so 23 days on the wing was a good innings.20240501_163708 Small Copper.jpg20240508_150149 Small Copper.jpg20240523_135557 Small Copper.jpg

I believe they are two different ones David, after comparing the spots on the upper wings (and how far they extend to the wing margin/border) but am open to correction. Nice photos!

Zayed

Thanks Zayed,
That takes my season tally to Nine individuals... Sadly by a long way, for me locally this was still the Small Coppers worst season ever!