Bronze Copper - Alabama Butterfly Atlas

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The Bronze Copper is a "fugitive" species: it disappears quickly as plant succession progresses past its earliest stages. Its habitats are almost completely dependent on some form of disturbance for creation and maintenance. Although many butterfly species are dependent on transient habitats, Bronze Coppers require early succession wetland sites, a particularly difficult niche to find.

Alabama's only known Bronze Copper colonies is dependent on the fortunes of some low-lying cotton fields. When the fields lie barren, dock plants pop up, and so do Bronze Coppers. In years that cotton is cultivated, the dock is replaced, and the coppers seem to vanish. The scenario is frustrating, but without the cycle of disturbance and renewal, plant succession would progress to stages unfavorable to this wide-ranging but very exacting butterfly species.

In north Alabama, sites that contain stands of Curly Dock (Rumex crispus) or other docks should be carefully searched for Bronze Coppers.

Distribution and Abundance

A dot on the county map indicates that there is at least one documented record of the species within that county. In some cases, a species may be common throughout the county, in others it may be found in only a specific habitat. The High Count information shows the highest numbers recorded for this species as well as when and where they occurred.

The sightings bar graphs depict the timing of flight(s) within each of three geographic regions. Place your cursor on a bar within the graph to see the number of individuals recorded during that period.

The abundance calendar displays the total number of individuals recorded within each week of the month. Both the graphs and the calendar are on based data collection that began in 2000.

The records analyzed here are only a beginning. As more data is collected, these maps and graphs will paint a more accurate picture of distribution and abundance in Alabama. Submit your sightings to albutterflyatlas@gmail.com.