Euchrysops barkeri

Euchrysops barkeri, the Barker's smoky blue or Barker's Cupid, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae.

Barker's smoky blue
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Lycaenidae
Genus:	Euchrysops
Species:	E. barkeri
Binomial name
Euchrysops barkeri (Trimen, 1893)[1]
Synonyms
Lycaena barkeri Trimen, 1893

Description

The wingspan is 26–32 mm for males and 27–33 mm for females. Adults are on wing year-round, but are most common from November to July in South Africa.^[2]

Habitat and behavior

It is found in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and from Sierra Leone to Tanzania. In South Africa it is found from the East Cape along the KwaZulu-Natal coast and in Limpopo province.

Life cycle

The female oviposits at the stem of Sphenostylis angustifolia (Fabaceae). The egg is pale sky-blue wih a sparkling pearlescent lustre.^[3]

The larvae feed on Crotalaria and Rhynchosia species and Vigna unguiculata.