Lepidochrysops glauca

Lepidochrysops glauca, the silvery blue, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found from the African tropics to South Africa.

Lepidochrysops glauca
Lepidochrysops glauca, male
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Lycaenidae
Genus:	Lepidochrysops
Species:	L. glauca
Binomial name
Lepidochrysops glauca (Trimen, 1887)[1]
Synonyms
Lycaena glauca Trimen, 1887 Cupido glauca Catochrysops glauca Neochrysops glauca Lepidochrysops glauca var. swinburnei Stevenson, 1939

The wingspan is 35–40 mm for males and 38–48 mm for females. Adults are on the wing from September to December and from January to April. There are two generations per year.^[2]

The larvae feed on Ocimum canum and Lantana rugosa.

Lepidochrysops glauca glauca, female, upper side

Lepidochrysops glauca glauca, female, underside

Subspecies

• Lepidochrysops glauca glauca

Range: Gabon, DRC, Angola, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Eswatini, South Africa: Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West, Gauteng, Free State and KwaZulu-Natal provinces

• Lepidochrysops glauca swinburnei Stevenson, 1939

Range: Zimbabwe