Lycaena tama explained

Lycaena tama, the Canterbury alpine boulder copper, is a species of copper which lives on the central South Island of New Zealand.^[1]

Description

A small butterfly with copper wings and a "marginal series of violet dots".^[2] It was named tama as a distinct species by R. W. Fereday after "a traditionary Maori chief of that name."

Range

Lycaena tama lives in the Mackenzie Basin and in the areas around Canterbury. It was first described as being in and around "Drayton Station, on the plains near Mount Hutt; spurs of mountains near Castle Hill Station; and the top of the Mount Hutt range"

Ecology

Lycaena tama uses the host plant pōhuehue.^[3]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Canterbury Alpine Boulder Copper (Lycaena tama) . iNaturalist . 2024-09-20 . en-US.
2. Feredey . R. W. . Supplementary Description of Species or Varieties of Chrysophani (Lepidoptera rhopalocera) inhabiting New Zealand . Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute . 1877 . 10 . 252–259 . 21 September 2024 . Wellington, New Zealand.
3. Henderson . Geoff . Patrick . Brian . New Zealand's pōhuehue (Muehlenbeckia) – a biodiversity powerhouse with an image problem . Canterbury Botanical Society . 2020 . 51 . 47–57 .