Glade copper butterflies are primarily orange in colour with black outlines and lines on the wings.

[1] Although at their younger stages they look identical, as opposed to the other species of Copper Butterflies, its wing patterns as well as its colouring do not vary much and remain fairly consistent (Gibbs 1980).

Research show that they had been observed in most of the South Island and certain parts of the North: eastern side of the Dunstan Mts, Central Otago and Wellington (Craw 1974).

Apart from forest glades, they can be found in various locations where their larval host plant grows (Gibbs 1961, Flux 1968).

It is also a sedentary species, it has a small home range and never goes too far from the larvae food plant (Craw 1975).

Other will wait to emerge during the first brood of the next season (Craw 1975) Glade Coppers, much like all other kinds of butterflies, has 4 stages in their life cycle.

When mating, a male Glade Copper would flutter a lot more rapidly in many directions frequently stopping when courting females.

Inter-specific encounters between other copper butterflies have been observed to be a mechanism to help maintain habitat selection (Craw 1974).

The male of flies fast in a zig-zag fashion, frequently stopping to bask, feed or court females.

Recent environmental research websites suggest that the Glade Copper is likely to be split into 2 species.