Wing span: 21–28 mm
Period of butterfly appearance: in two to four partially overlapping generations from March to November
Larval food plants: common sorrel (Rumex acetosa) and sheep sorrel (Rumex acetosella) and probably also plants from the knotweed family (Polygonaceae)
Small Copper (Lycaena phleas) is the smallest of the coppers here, which are already small. Unlike other coppers, the female and male of the Small Copper look very similar.
The central part of the upperside of the forewings is a dark orange color with a metallic sheen and a pattern of black spots, along the edge of the wings there is a broad dark brown band. On the upperside of the hindwings the color pattern is reversed, the central part is uniformly dark brown, along the lower edge of the wings runs a broad band of vivid orange, interrupted by a few black spots right at the edge. The forewings on the underside in the middle are also orange, but the band along the wing edge is brownish grey, the black spots in the center are white-edged. A large part of the underside of the hindwings is brownish grey and sprinkled with small black dots, along the outer edge there runs, a characteristic feature of this species, a band of red-orange spots in a suboval shape. On the lower outer edge of the hindwings the Small Copper has a small tooth, the fringe along the edge of its wings is white.
The Small Copper is a highly adaptable species and occurs in a wide range of habitats. It prefers richly flowering meadows, both dry and more moist, with distinctly structured vegetation; it is also found in abandoned quarries and on road verges, i.e., habitats created by humans. Bare patches of ground where butterflies come to bask are also important for the Small Copper, and the males include them in their territories.
It is a distinctly lowland species, so we will rarely encounter it above 1000 m above sea level. It is widespread throughout Slovenia, but is absent from much of the Alps and the Dinaric Alps.
