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| Lycaena dione (Scudder, 1868) |
| Status: Uncommon to abundant somewhat local resident |
| Flight Period(s): One flight peaking in mid-late June. Nebraska records range from 8 June – 28 July . |
| Range: This butterfly is found from southern portions of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba southeast to western Oklahoma, most of Missouri, Iowa and Minnesota. In Nebraska it is found thoughout the state and should eventually be found in every county. |
| Larval Hostplant(s): Dock (Rumex) species, especially Bitter Dock (R. obtusifolius) in Missouri (Heitzman, 1987) |
| Overwinter: As an egg |
| Commentary/Habitat: This is the most widespread and common of our coppers and is found in a variety of habitats. They can be found in riparian, marshy and low areas, along drainage ditches, and in pastures, prairies and suburban weedy areas. It occasionally becomes abundant, with adults nectaring on dogbane, alfalfa, leadplant, milkweeds and snowberry. The sexes are dimorphic, but not dramatically so. This species has formerly been considered a subspecies of Lycaena xanthoides and is listed as such in most older reference material. |
| Similar Species: None |
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