Copper Mining

For butterflies, that is. 

This is an American copper butterfly. It's a small fellow, with a wingspan of about an inch - give or take a little, depending on the particular specimen. They fly low to the ground, in contrast to the monarch or painted lady, which often soar pretty high. 

I often see these colorful beauties out in the fields where Baloo and I walk. They're sort of hard to photograph, though, because they don't hold still for very long. By the time I have zoomed in on where they were a second ago, they've moved on. I need to learn to anticipate...

Apparently, they like to eat sheep sorrel when they're in their larval stage. It's abundant around here and it would be a great hiding place for these little guys, because they're a bright green color, too. There should be a large population of American copper caterpillars in my yard, since it has several areas that have been completely overrun by sheep sorrel (and other weeds). I will have to keep my eyes open to see if I can spot one.