We at Dorset BC have just been sent a most unexpected photo – one of a Large Copper taken in Dorchester on 9th June 2026 by Pete Lewis.
This striking butterfly has been extinct in Britain for over 150 years and prior to that they were generally only found in marshy areas.
Reintroductions in the UK were attempted until the early 1990’s but all eventually failed. The larva of this butterfly feed on Water Dock so we know that this one must be an escapee or a release and consequently it will not appear in our list of sightings.
However, we felt that we should share the photo of this beautiful butterfly with you all even though it doesn’t belong here as part of Dorset’s flora and fauna.
Both sexes are readily identified by the brilliant eye- catching copper colouring of the wings that flash as they catch the sun.
Editor’s Note: My thanks to Nick Urch for alerting me to this sighting
We BC Cambs & Essex were notified of Large Copper seen at Burnham on Crouch. It was too early in the season according to our expert in Cambridge so, on balance, our county recorder classified it as a release
Thank you for your comment David – with butterflies as rare/non existent as this in the UK one cannot help wondering what motivates people to do this.
John East/Dorset Branch of Butterfly Conservation
My wife and I saw what appeared to be a Large Copper on a walk between Poorton and Lower Kingcombe in Dorset on 19th July. We didn’t get a photo, and we are not butterfly experts, but it looked exactly like the illustration of the Large Copper shown in Pocket Guide to the Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland, second edition by Richard Lewington.
Regards, Hugh Reynolds
I have just seen one in Chideock West Dorset today 27 July
Are they easily confused with any other species? I’m 90% sure I saw in one Shipton Gorge, near Bridport, on 5 September. Very vivid orange in flight and underwind pattern matched large rather than any other copper.
David – your description sounds very much like a Large Copper. The female is similar to a large Small Copper but the upperside of the male is unmistakeable. A great butterfly to see.