#2988 · 🦋 butterflies & moths
Scarce Copper
🇳🇱 Morgenrood ·Lycaena virgaureae
8 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences
what is it?
The scarce copper ( Lycaena virgaureae ) is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae (copper or gossamer-winged butterflies).
base stats
Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).
fun facts
- No confirmed wild sightings in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: you'd have to travel for this one.
- 17,641 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
- Scientifically named in 1758 (268 years ago).
fact sheet
- English
- Scarce Copper
- Nederlands
- Morgenrood
- scientific name
- Lycaena virgaureae
- class
- Insecta
- order
- Lepidoptera
- family
- Lycaenidae
- sightings in NL
- 0
- sightings in Europe
- 16,029
- sightings worldwide
- 17,641
- GBIF records in NL
- 3
- weight
- —
- length
- —
- lifespan
- —
- named
- 1758
relatives· Lycaenidae
#2391 📷 7Small Copper
🇳🇱 Kleine vuurvlinder
Lycaena phlaeas
👀 2.1k in NL
#2394 📷 8Common Blue
🇳🇱 Icarusblauwtje
Polyommatus icarus
👀 1.8k in NL
#2400 📷 8Holly Blue
🇳🇱 Boomblauwtje
Celastrina argiolus
👀 1.4k in NL
#2422 📷 10Brown Argus
🇳🇱 Bruin blauwtje
Aricia agestis
👀 647 in NL
#2475 📷 7Silver-studded Blue
🇳🇱 Heideblauwtje
Plebejus argus
👀 318 in NL
#2517 📷 10Purple hairstreak
🇳🇱 Eikenpage
Favonius quercus
LC 👀 196 in NL
#2539 📷 10Green Hairstreak
🇳🇱 Groentje
Callophrys rubi
👀 172 in NL
#2566 📷 10Sooty Copper
🇳🇱 Bruine Vuurvlinder
Lycaena tityrus
LC 👀 148 in NL
Sources: iNaturalist taxon 147078, Wikidata Q520934, GBIF 1929659, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.