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Hello everyone,

I saw my first Small Coppers of the year this morning, with what I thought may be an aberration due to finer markings on the top wing (top photo), compared with the bolder markings on the other I saw (bottom picture).

I would be grateful for any views on this.
Kind Regards
Kev

I'd say it's one of those borderline examples that are subjective depending on the observer. It's quite a variable species anyway so for me I'd say it's within normal variation, others will likely say different.

What you have there Kev is a nice fresh female (top) and a male (bottom). Females tend to have finer markings than males and can often look like your example. For me it is within normal variation although I dare say someone will still put some obscure name to it.

Cheers,

Neil.

Thanks Bugboy/Neil. That has enlightened me as I didn't know the difference between make and female

Kind Regards
Kev