About Lycaena tama (Fereday, 1878)
This is a small butterfly species with copper-colored wings that have a marginal series of violet dots. R. W. Fereday first described it as a distinct species in 1878, and gave it the specific epithet tama after a traditionary Maori chief of that name. Lycaena tama is found in the Mackenzie Basin and surrounding areas of Canterbury, New Zealand. When first described, its recorded locations within this region included Drayton Station on the plains near Mount Hutt, spurs of mountains near Castle Hill Station, and the top of the Mount Hutt range. The host plant used by Lycaena tama is pōhuehue.
