Despite its vibrant orange (or copper) colouring the small copper is a member of the hesperiidae, or blue butterfly, family. It is an active butterfly and one happy at operating near ground level and so it is easy to see. It has three broods each year so there is rarely a time from April to October when it cannot be found. The small copper is most at home in sunny locations whether that be grassland, heath, woodland rides, hedgerow banks, disused railways, parks or gardens; it is a frequently recorded species here in Dorset especially as it is quite distinctive in appearance too.
There are sixty two reports of small copper in the Nature of Dorset database for 2017 and 2018 combined. True to form the first emerge in early April (one was even seen in the last week of March in 2019) and then there are records for most weeks right through until week 44 at the end of October; there are also a couple of records from November too. There is a short gap between week 23 and week 27 in June after the first brood is over and the second brood is awaited. There is also a short lean spell around the beginning of September as the third brood is awaited.
Nearly thirty sites have reported small copper in the two years for which there is data and the bulk of these are predominantly chalk or limestone grassland and the distribution map reflects this but there are reports from heathland and urban sites too with the undercliff at Boscombe and Southbourne being a good place for them.
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