Pepe para riki

Lycaena salustius, Lycaena maui 

Copper Butterfly, Maui’s Copper

LOCATION: Native to New Zealand, copper butterflies are plentiful in the Park in summer.

DESCRIPTION: The imago has a 24-35mm wingspan. The male has glowing copper colour with pronounced double wing veins on the fore and hindwings. The female has a single broad black marking along the wing veins on forewings and double wing vein markings on hindwings. Females also have faint blue spots around edge of wings and are more darkly marked. (NZ Butterfly)

BEHAVIOUR: They mainly feed with wings closed, and open wings in the sun to warm them.

DIET: The caterpillars feed exclusively on pohuehue (Muehlenbeckia complexa) which is also prolific throughout the Park.