Observation date: June 05, 2021
Submitted by: jhintermeister
Specimen type: Photograph
Observation notes: This is the only location I've seen Purplish Copper in Santa Clara County. I've seen it this year and also several years ago during a severe drought year. Both times Grant Lake water levels receded significantly, uncovering land ordinarily under water in normal to wet years. I assume this is because a host plant really likes that habitat and moves in, but I'm not enough of a botanist to know exactly what that plant is. Unknown where the source location of these butterflies could be since they are probably here every year somewhere else in Joseph D. Grant County Park.
Status: Resident
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: June 07, 2021
Coordinator notes: Purplish Coppers will use Rumex in flooded areas including pastures but also like alfalfa fields in the Chowchilla area. This and other species like Dainty Sulphurs can show up in flooded areas in huge numbers as the water recedes. A couple years ago Dainty Sulphurs were the most common butterfly around portions of Lake Isabella and even along the Kern River at Hart Park in Bakersfield where Purplish Coppers occur, but rarely at Hart Park-Ken Davenport
