Until recently, the endangered purple copper butterfly (Paralucia spinifera) was only known to occur in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, around Bathurst, Oberon and Lithgow. However, in August 2021 the species was discovered flying in Namadgi National Park in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).
This species was identified by scientists in 2021 as one of 26 Australian butterflies at greatest risk of extinction. We don’t know exactly how many individuals remain, but it’s possible that more locations will be identified where the butterfly’s food plant occurs. These may lie outside the species' currently known distribution.
Purple copper butterflies are important pollinators and play a role in food chains The species has a mutualistic relationship with the ant Anonychomyrma itinerans, which protects caterpillars from predators in return for a sugary honeydew produced by the caterpillars. As herbivores, the caterpillars eat the leaves of plants and cycle nutrients back into the soil through their faeces. They also serve as food for animals such as birds, spiders, and insects like dragonflies, flies and wasps.
Without urgent conservation action, this species is at risk of extinction. At Saving our Species, we are committed to securing threatened species. Let’s take a closer look at this rare and endangered butterfly, what’s being done to save it and how we can all help.
An update on the purple copper butterfly conservation project
Threats to the purple copper butterfly include habitat loss and modification through clearing, spraying, grazing, inappropriate use of fire, weed invasion and habitat disturbance by feral pigs.
Under the Saving our Species program, the NSW Government is funding several actions to conserve the butterfly, including:
- monitoring and survey to help find more butterflies
- pest and weed control
- community engagement so people can keep a look out and report any sightings
- ecological burns to ensure healthy habitat for the butterfly.
About the purple copper butterfly
What does it look like?
The purple copper butterfly is a small butterfly with a thick body and a wingspan of only 20–30 mm. The upper sides of its wings are purple, black or deep brown, with a bronze or green iridescence when they’re in the sun. The undersides of its wings are patterned with subtle brown, black and grey. Its black antennae are dotted with white spots and have a black tip.
Butterflies can emerge from late August through to early November and they usually fly between 10 am and 2 pm on warm sunny days with little or no wind.
Adult males fly rapidly at about one metre from the ground and rest in the sun with their wings parted. Females fly less rapidly and tend to stay closer to the host plant, a native blackthorn shrub, on which they lay their eggs. Typical behaviours include territorial chasing and spiralling courtship chases, with one female being pursued by several males. They also like to sit in the sun and feed on nearby flowers.
Caterpillars grow to about 22 mm in length and are light green with darker longitudinal markings. They are nocturnal and can be found crawling along the blackthorn stems and feeding on the leaves from 10 pm to 5 am between November and January. They will be attended by between one and 15 ants, with other ants patrolling a line between the feeding caterpillar and the ant nest at the base of the plant. Ants also roam around the host plant, attacking other insects that they find.
The purple copper butterfly lives in open woodland or open forest with a sparse understorey that is dominated by the shrub native blackthorn – Bursaria spinosa subsp. lasiophylla.
The Counting Coppers project, run by Butterflies Australia and the NSW Government’s Saving our Species program, asks citizen scientists to record their sightings during the spring butterfly season through the easy-to-use Butterflies Australia app. 