Bronze copper
Bronze copper is an uncommon to rare butterfly, local to a few places in my area:
It’s the very end of the butterfly season here in the northeast – I saw three Bronze Copper in this spot, all on the same white aster, almost the last asters in bloom there.
Nature Diary 
I find it unusual that this butterfly has two metals for names.
Never thought of that – I’m used to copper as the name for a family of butterflies.
Nice find, Tom. So late in the season yet they appear pretty fresh.
The other two I saw were pretty worn – this one less so. Exciting to find any this late!
I’m so jealous that you see these. In all my years as butterfly monitor I only ever saw one!
I’m a member of a Massachusetts butterfly group, and I’ve learned where you can find them from the reports from the group. Finding them on this late a date (yesterday, 10/20) was pretty exciting. They were the only butterflies I saw – not even a Cabbage White or a Clouded Sulphur.
A few days ago I was still seeing buckeyes and red admirals, but not today!
I was so taken with this little thing I looked it up before reading your text, and sure enough, I found comments like this: “A very scarce and almost assuredly truly rare MA butterfly.” It’s wonderful that you’ve found them — it’s as pretty as any butterfly I’ve seen. The white asters complement it well; the photo’s a delight.
I remembered some photos I have of a pretty little (still unidentified) butterfly on white asters. I went into my files to see when they were taken, and discovered they were from Galveston Island on December 1 of last year. By that time, I suspect most of your white might be snow.
I’m cautious about calling a butterfly “rare”, so I looked it up first. With Bronze copper, you have to know where to look, and I’m lucky that the spot to look is close by, in the Sudbury river area. There are several places to look along the river and probably others in Massachusetts. That doesn’t make it rare, really. Early Hairstreak is found in just one place in Massachusetts, Mt Greylock. That’s rare! Bronze copper is a pretty thing, though! Thanks for the kind words.
Fantastic photographs and how lucky that you found them, Tom. 🙂