The British subspecies of this butterfly (L. d. dispar) has been extinct since 1864[citation needed]. Most of our knowledge of its life cycle and ecology comes from studies of the similar subspecies (L. d. batava') found in the Netherlands. The species can be identified by the silvery hindwing undersides, from the large specimens of the related, more common, drier habitat species Caena virgaureae and Lycaena hippothoe.