Eicochrysops messapus

Eicochrysops messapus, the cupreous blue, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae.^[2] It is found in Africa. In South Africa it is rare and only known from the northern part of the Limpopo province and northern KwaZulu-Natal.

Cupreous blue
male and wing undersides
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Lycaenidae
Genus:	Eicochrysops
Species:	E. messapus
Binomial name
Eicochrysops messapus (Godart, [1824])[1]
Synonyms
Polyommatus messapus Godart, [1824] Cupido sapphirina Stoneham, 1938 Lycaena acca Westwood, 1851 Lycaena mahallakoaena Wallengren, 1857 Eicochrysops mahallakoaena Catochrysops nandiana Bethune-Baker, 1906 Polyommatus sebagadis Guérin-Méneville, 1849 Cupido messapus ab. trisignatus Strand, 1911

The wingspan is 17–22 mm for males and 17–24 mm for females. Adults are on wing year-round in warmer areas, with peaks in October and March. In cooler areas it is not found from April to September.^[3]

The larvae probably feed on Thesium species.

Subspecies

E. m. mahallakoeana, mud-puddling

• E. m. messapus — South Africa: Western Cape to Free State provinces
• E. m. mahallakoeana (Wallengren, 1857) — South Africa: northern Eastern Cape to KwaZulu-Natal, northern Free State, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, Limpopo and North West provinces
• E. m. nandiana (Bethune-Baker, 1906) — Kenya, Uganda
• E. m. sebagadis (Guérin-Méneville, 1849) — highlands of Ethiopia