Listing
May 22, 1984
May 22, 1984 Listing
Review of Invertebrate Wildlife for Listing as Endangered or Threatened Species; 49 FR 21664-21675
- Publication type: CNOR
Item 1
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
Identification Numbers
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.
Timeline
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