Lycaena hermes

Hermes Copper

FWS Focus

Overview

Characteristics
Overview

The Hermes copper butterfly is a small-sized butterfly currently found in San Diego County, California and northwestern Baja California, Mexico. It has lost significant viability over the past 50 years due to wildfire, drought and climate change climate change
Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods of climatic change, since the mid-20th century humans have had an unprecedented impact on Earth's climate system and caused change on a global scale.

Learn more about climate change
, and was proposed for listing as threatened in January 2020.

Scientific Name

Lycaena hermes
Common Name
Hermes Copper
Hermes copper butterfly
FWS Category
Insects
Kingdom

Location in Taxonomic Tree

Identification Numbers

TSN:

Characteristics

Characteristic category

Physical Characteristics

Characteristics
Size & Shape

The Hermes copper butterfly is brown with orange on the upper wings, and yellow undersides with black dots. Adults are active May through July when females lay their eggs exclusively on spiny redberry bushes found in coastal sage scrub and chaparral habitats. The primary nectar source for adults is California buckwheat.  

Color & Pattern

The Hermes copper butterfly is brown with orange on the upper wings, and yellow undersides with black dots. 

Characteristic category

Behavior

Characteristics
Behavior

Adults are active May through July when females lay their eggs exclusively on spiny redberry bushes found in coastal sage scrub and chaparral habitats.

Characteristic category

Food

Characteristics
Food

The primary nectar source for adults is California buckwheat.

Geography

Launch Interactive Map

Timeline

Explore the information available for this taxon's timeline. You can select an event on the timeline to view more information, or cycle through the content available in the carousel below.

26 Items