Lycaena virgaurea montanus
The species is widely distributed in almost entire Eurasia. Armenia is inhabited by endemic subspecies L. v. armeniaca (A. Bang-Haas, 1906), which occupies wet mountain steppes and meadows at the elevation range from 1800 to 2700 m a.s.l., rarely occurs in glades of upper parts of mountain deciduous forests. The host plants of Scarce Copper are various species of Rumex, although most common one is R.acetosa. Butterflies give one generation per year and are on wing from early July to mid August depending on elevation.
The species is quite common within typical habitat, and the population trend demonstrates stability. It appears that the processes of mowing and habitat degradation do not touch this quite specialized species, probably due to its annual activity period: female lays down eggs when main mowing is finished, and the caterpillars are feeding before the main grazing activities begin, plus the Rumex is not common eatable plant for the livestock. The scarce copper (Lycaena virgaureae) is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae (copper or gossamer-winged butterflies). The lower surfaces of the back wings are yellowish and have only a few black dots; there are characteristic white marks the immediate vicinity of these. The species exhibits one kind of sexual dimorphism: male butterflies are colored bright gold-red on the upper side of wing, while the females have broader orange wings with a dark design. Lycaena virgaureae lives preferably on flower-rich, dry and damp meadows in Central Europe. In Spain it is found in the Pyrenees and in the Cantabrian Mountains. In southern France it is found in the Massif Central. Its area of distribution reaches the Arctic Circle in Fennoscandia in the north; in the south it reaches north and northwest Greece. In Belgium there are a few threatened populations in the south of the country. It is not found, however, on the British Isles or the Netherlands. It can be found as far east as Mongolia. The scarce copper is found at elevations of 1,000 to 2,000 meters, although in Armenia it inhabits meadows up to 2,700 meters above sea level.
