Zizeeria karsandra on euroButterflies by Matt Rowlings

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Zizeeria karsandra

Dark Grass Blue

euroButterflies

by Matt Rowlings

Crete, Greece, October 2017

Crete, Greece, October 2017

Field notes and information

Principally known from N Africa, there are sparse records from Crete and very few records from Sicily and Rhodes. I was delighted to find many individuals in southern Crete in autumn 2017 at many sites albeit in a small geographical region.

Identification & Similar species: Extremely similar to Z. knysna, African grass blue. Possibly indistinguishable. The current species hay have hairier eyes, although this is not obvious from my photos. The two species may overlap in N Africa, possibly in Tunisia or Algeria.

Distribution & Flight: The two species may overlap in N Africa, possibly in Tunisia or Algeria. It flies in the warmer months, from March or April in a succession of broods with increasing abundance to October or later.

Habitat & Behaviour: In October flies low over waste ground in urban areas. These places are often utterly dry and dusty with only sparse dispersed vegetation. However, is also found around gardens which may offer conditions suitable for the growth of larval food plants and nectar plants in otherwise largely barren conditions of autumn in the Med.