Common Copper, Manto bicolor

Description:

Common copper on a Squarrose Knapweed flower (http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/406...). The butterfly belongs to the Lycaenidae family. The upperside forewings are a bright orange with a dark outside edge border and with eight or nine black spots. The hindwings are dark with an orange border. Some females also have a row of blue spots inside the orange border. The undersides are patterned in a similar way but are paler. The black spots on the forewings are outlined in yellow and the dark colouring is replaced by a pale brownish, gray. The hindwings are the same brown/grey colour with small black dots and a narrow orange border. The caterpillars (larvae) are usually green, but some have a purple stripe down the middle of the back and along each side.

Habitat:

Spotted 1600 meters high in Parque Nacional de Sierra de Guadarrama in a clearing between pine trees (Pinus sylvestris)

Notes:

Camera Model: NIKON D300. Exposure Time: 1/500 sec.; f/11; ISO Speed Rating: 400. Exposure Bias: 0 EV. Focal Length: 300.0 mm.