The Red Copper is a butterfly

Butterfly

A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...

 of the Lycaenidae

Lycaenidae

The Lycaenidae are the second-largest family of butterflies, with about 6000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies...

 family. It is found in South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

.

The wingspan

Wingspan

The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...

 is 22–26 mm for males and 24–28 mm females. Adults are on wing from July to April with peaks in October and February. There are several generations per year through the warmer months.

The larvae feed on Aspalathus acuminata, Aspalathus laricifolia and Aspalathus cymbiformis. The larvae are attented to by Lepisiota capensis ants.

Subspecies

• Aloeides thyra thyra (Cape Peninsula, north-west to Lambert's Bay and east to Matjiesfontein)
• Aloeides thyra orientis Pringle, 1994 (Stilbaai to Knysna in the West Cape)