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Zizeeria knysna

African Grass Blue

Field Notes

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Ait Benhaddou, High Atlas, Morocco, July 2005

 

Ait Benhaddou, High Atlas, Morocco, July 2005
 

Marrakech, Morocco, June 2005
 

Ait Benhaddou, High Atlas, Morocco, July 2005

Fascinating location for many films such as Laurence of Arabia and Gladiator, the movie makers neglected to mention the thriving colony of African Grass Blues in the foreground of this photo.
 

Marrakech, Morocco, June 2005

Female
 

Marrakech, Morocco, June 2005

Very typical habitat - irrigation channels

 

A tiny butterfly that is often very common where it is found. It is always associated with damp places, usually with lucerne or mint, such as irrigation ditches or drains and desert oases. The butterflies are very fond of lucerne fields and in June/ July in Morocco just about every field had a thriving colony of this butterfly, even deep into the desert. The butterfly is hard to photograph, even though there may be many in a small area. They are always active and will alight to feed for only a very short time before flying on again. Sometimes with luck a butterfly will settle infront of the camera, allowing a quick photo.

It flies much more rarely and locally in Spain. We had a colony at the side of a small natural pool in the garden of a villa we rented for a family holiday in 1992 on the southern slopes of the Sierra Nevada. We didn't see any other colonies anywhere in Spain.

 

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