| Tiny grass blue | |
|---|---|
 | |
| In Kerala, India | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Lycaenidae |
| Genus: | Zizula |
| Species: | Z. hylax |
| Binomial name | |
| Zizula hylax (Fabricius, 1775) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Zizula hylax, 'the Tiny grass blue' [1] [2] is a species of blue butterfly.
Male upperside: dull violet blue, which changes to a brighter tint of violet in certain lights. Forewing: the costa very narrowly, the termen much more broadly dull brown; this edging to the termen in most specimens decreases in width from apex to tornus, and is outwardly followed by an anteciliary darker brown line. Cilia brownish anteriorly, posteriorly brownish at the base with the apical portions white. Hindwing: the ground colour brighter than on the forewing, the costal and terminal margins much more narrowly edged with brown, which edging is merged in the anteciliary dark brown line. Cilia: brown along their basal halves, white apically. [3]
Underside: grey. Forewing: a dusky brown lunular line on the discocellulars; two subcostal spots above the cell, one on either side of the discocellular lunule; a very strongly curved discal series of five spots, of which the posterior three are somewhat lunular in shape and placed obliquely en echelon, the next above these hook shaped, the anterior spot round; both the subcostal spots and the spots of the discal series are black, each narrowly encircled with white; beyond these are inner and outer subterminal dusky lines, which anteriorly are continuous, posteriorly somewhat broken and macular, followed by a very conspicuous jet-black anteciliary slender line. Cilia greyish white, traversed by a medial transverse blackish-brown line. Hindwing: with the following small white-encircled black spots: a subbasal transverse series of three, followed by a highly curved series of eight spots, that curve across the disc of the wing to the costa and along the latter towards the base; discocellulars with a dusky short lunular line as on the forewing; terminal markings and cilia similar, but the outer and broader subterminal line more broken and macular than on the forewing. Antennae black, the shafts ringed with white; head, thorax and abdomen dark brown, with a little violet pubescence on the head and thorax; beneath: palpi, thorax and abdomen greyish white. [3]
Female upperside: glossy brown, without any violet tint whatever; the anteciliary darker brown lines on both forewings and hindwings well marked. Underside: very similar to that of the male, the ground colour a shade darker, the markings slightly larger and more prominent. Antenna, head, thorax and abdomen as in the male, but the latter three without a trace of violet or blue on the upperside. [3] [4]
The tiny grass blue is found in several races throughout tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia, and Oceania, including India, [1] Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, Swaziland, north and east coasts of Australia and also in southern Australia. [2]
The wingspan of the adults is about 1.5 centimetres (0.59 in). The eggs are pale green, round, and flattened, with a diameter of about 0.5 millimetres (0.020 in). They are laid singly on buds and flowers of a food plant. The caterpillars are 0.7 centimetres (0.28 in) long, green with a dark red line along the back, and light and dark lines partway along the sides. The sides are hairy, and the head is pale brown. The pupa is 0.7 cm long, hairy and green, and is attached to a stem or the underside of a leaf of a food plant. [3]
Food plants include various members of the family Acanthaceae. Species noted include Hygrophila auriculata and Phaulopsis dorsiflora . [5]
Zizina otis, the lesser grass blue, is a species of blue (Lycaenidae) butterfly found in south and southeast Asia. The species was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1787. The lesser grass blue is often misidentified as Zizina labradus, the common grass blue.
Leptotes plinius, the zebra blue or plumbago blue, is a species of blue butterfly (Lycaenidae) found in Sri Lanka, India to Australia. The species was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1793.
Parnassius simo, the black-edged Apollo, is a high-altitude butterfly found in the Himalayas which belongs to the Papilionidae (swallowtail) family.
Luthrodes pandava, the plains Cupid or cycad blue, is a species of lycaenid butterfly found in India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, United Arab Emirates, Indochina, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Java, Sumatra and the Philippines. They are among the few butterflies that breed on plants of the cycad class.
Azanus ubaldus, the bright babul blue, desert babul blue, or velvet-spotted blue, is a small butterfly found in India, the Middle East and Africa that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family.
Niphanda cymbia, the pointed Pierrot, is a small butterfly found in northern India, Burma and northern Borneo that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family.
Elkalyce kala, the black Cupid, is a small butterfly found in India that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family.
Chilades lajus, the lime blue, is a small butterfly found in India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Hainan, Mangulam Island, Sulawesi and the Philippines that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family.
Orthomiella pontis, the straightwing blue, is a small butterfly found in India that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family.
Jamides bochus, the dark cerulean, is a small butterfly found in Indomalayan realm that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family. The species was first described by Caspar Stoll in 1782.
Jamides celeno, the common cerulean, is a small butterfly found in Indomalayan realm belonging to the lycaenids or blues family. The species was first described by Pieter Cramer in 1775.
Acytolepis puspa, the common hedge blue, is a small butterfly found in Cambodia, India, Myanmar, Thailand, Yunnan, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Borneo and New Guinea that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family. The species was first described by Thomas Horsfield in 1828.
Alpherakya devanica is a species of Lycaenid butterfly found in Asia.
Petrelaea dana, the dingy lineblue, is a species of lycaenid butterfly found in Indomalayan realm.
Nacaduba kurava, the transparent six-line blue, is a Lycaenidae butterfly found in Asia and Australia. The species was first described by Frederic Moore in 1857.
Prosotas noreia, the white-tipped lineblue, is a species of lycaenid butterfly found in South Asia and Java.
Nacaduba berenice, the rounded six-line blue, is a lycaenid butterfly found in Indomalayan realm. The species was first described by Gottlieb August Wilhelm Herrich-Schäffer in 1869.
Pamiria omphisa, the dusky green underwing, is a species of blue (Lycaenidae) butterfly found in Asia.
Catochrysops strabo, the forget-me-not, is a small butterfly found in Asia that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family. The species was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1793. It is found in Sri Lanka, India, from Sikkim to Indochina and in Sundaland, Sulawesi and the Philippines.
Monodontides musina, the Swinhoe's hedge blue, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in South-East Asia, including India.
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a work now in the public domain : Bingham, C.T. (1907). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. II (1st ed.). London: Taylor and Francis, Ltd. pp. 308–309. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a work now in the public domain : Swinhoe, Charles (1905–1910). Lepidoptera Indica. Vol. VII. London: Lovell Reeve and Co. pp. 232–233. | Wikimedia Commons has media related to Zizula hylax . |
Data related to Zizula hylax at Wikispecies