Species Lucia limbaria (Swainson, 1833)
Grassland Copper, Small Copper
- Polyommatus (Lucia) limbaria Swainson, W. 1833. Zoological Illustrations, or Original Figures and Descriptions of new, rare, or interesting animals, selected chiefly from the classes of Ornithology, Entomology, and Conchology, and arranged according to their natural affinities. 2nd Series. The Birds. London : Baldwin & Cradock; W. Wood; R. Havell Vol. 3 50 pp. pls 92-136. [Date published Mar. 1833: publication dated as 1832–1833, published Mar. 1833] [135 pl. 135].
Type data:
Status unknown, whereabouts unknown ♂, Australia (in original description)
Comment: Swainson in the original description did not indicate the number of specimens described. - Chrysophanus discifer Herrich-Schäffer, G.A.W. 1869. Neue Schmetterlinge aus dem Museum Godeffroy in Hamburg. Stettiner Entomologische Zeitung 30(1–3): 66-80 pls 1-4 [72].
Type data:
Status unknown, whereabouts unknown ♂, Brisbane, QLD (designated in original description)
Comment: Herrich-Schäffer in the original description did not indicate the number of specimens described; they were originally in the Museum Godeffroy.
Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy
- Waterhouse, G.A. 1937. Note on Hesperia lucanus Fabricius (Lepidoptera). Proceedings of the Royal Entomological Society of London B 6(1): 16 [16]
- Edwards, E.D. 1996. Lycaenidae. pp. 249-254, 360-363 in Nielsen, E.S., Edwards, E.D. & Rangsi, T.V. (eds). Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera. Collingwood : CSIRO Publishing Vol. 4 xiv 529 pp. & CD-ROM. [249]
Distribution
States
Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria
Extra Distribution Information
An old record from Lord Howe Is. requires confirmation.
Australian Endemic.
IBRA
ACT, NSW, Qld, SA, Vic: Australian Alps (AA), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Desert Uplands (DEU), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Eyre Yorke Block (EYB), Flinders Lofty Block (FLB), Flinders (FLI), Gawler (GAW), Kanmantoo (KAN), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Mulga Lands (ML), Nandewar (NAN), Naracoorte Coastal Plain (NCP), New England Tablelands (NET), NSW North Coast (NNC), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Riverina (RIV), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Victorian Midlands (VM), Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP), Wet Tropics (WT)
Original AFD Distribution Data
Australian Region
- Australia
- Australian Capital Territory
- New South Wales: Murray-Darling basin, SE coastal
- Queensland: Murray-Darling basin, NE coastal
- South Australia: S Gulfs
- Victoria: Murray-Darling basin, SE coastal
Ecological Descriptors
Larva: attendant ants, herbivore (associated flora: Oxalis exilis A.Cunn. [OXALIDACEAE]; Oxalis perennans Haw. [OXALIDACEAE]).
Extra Ecological Information
Larvae and pupae are attended by small black ants, Iridomyrmex sp. gracilis group and Iridomyrmex sp. rufoniger group.
General References
Common, I.F.B. & Waterhouse, D.F. 1981. Butterflies of Australia. Sydney : Angus & Robertson xiv 682 pp. 49 pls. [423] (distribution, identification, life history)
Dunn, K.L. & Dunn, L.E. 1991. Review of Australian Butterflies: distribution, life history and taxonomy. Family Lycaenidae. Melbourne : K. & L. Dunn Vol. 3 336-512 pp. [337] (distribution)
Edwards, E.D. 1991. The nomenclature of Paralucia pyrodiscus (Doubleday) (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae). Australian Entomological Magazine 18: 27-30 [27] (nomenclature)
Macqueen, J. 1965. Notes on Australian Lycaenidae (Lepidoptera). Journal of the Entomological Society of Queensland 4: 56-57 [56] (biology)
Quick, W.N.B. 1972. Description of the larval and pupal stages of Lucia limbaria Swainson, the 'small copper'. (Lepidoptera, family Lycaenidae). Victorian Entomologist 2: 5 [5] (biology)
Waterhouse, G.A. 1937. Note on Hesperia lucanus Fabricius (Lepidoptera). Proceedings of the Royal Entomological Society of London B 6(1): 16 [16]
Waterhouse, G.A. & Lyell, G. 1914. The Butterflies of Australia: a monograph of the Australian Rhopalocera introducing a complete scheme of structural classification, and giving descriptions and illustrations of all the butterflies found in Australia, including a number now recorded for the first time. Sydney : Angus & Robertson 239 pp. 38 pls + 3 unnumbered colour pls. [Date published 25 July 1914] [111] (as Lucia lucanus (Fabricius))
Waterhouse, G.A. & Turner, R.E. 1905. Notes on Australian Rhopalocera: Lycaenidae. Part IV. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 29(4): 798-804 [802]
History of changes
| Published | As part of group | Action Date | Action Type | Compiler(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 07-Mar-2024 | PAPILIONOIDEA | 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | Dr Michael Braby |
| 04-Feb-2023 | PAPILIONOIDEA | 22-Dec-2023 | MODIFIED | Dr Michael Braby (ANU) |
| 13-May-2022 | PAPILIONOIDEA | 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | Dr Michael Braby |
| 26-Feb-2021 | PAPILIONOIDEA | 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | Dr Michael Braby |
| 04-Jun-2020 | PAPILIONOIDEA | 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | Dr Michael Braby |
| 04-Jun-2020 | LYCAENIDAE Leach, 1815 | 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | |
| 06-Sep-2017 | PAPILIONOIDEA | 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | |
| 01-Feb-2016 | Luciini | 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | |
| 06-Sep-2017 | LYCAENIDAE | 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | Dr Federica Turco (QM) |
| 05-Mar-2013 | 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | ||
| 30-Mar-2012 | 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | ||
| 28-Mar-2012 | 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | ||
| 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED |