Orachrysops nasutus
Encyclopedia
The Nosy Blue is a butterfly
of the Lycaenidae
family. It is found in South Africa
.
The wingspan
is 30-38 mm for males and 25-39 mm for females. Adults are on wing from December to January. There is one generation per year.
The larvae feed on Indigofera cuneifolia.
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
of the Lycaenidae
Lycaenidae
The Lycaenidae are the second-largest family of butterflies, with about 6000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies...
family. It is found in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
The wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
is 30-38 mm for males and 25-39 mm for females. Adults are on wing from December to January. There is one generation per year.
The larvae feed on Indigofera cuneifolia.
Subspecies
- Orachrysops nasutus nasutus (high altitude montane grassland in the Amatolas and the southern Drakensberg in the East Cape)
- Orachrysops nasutus remus Henning & Henning, 1994 (Lesotho to the south-eastern KwaZulu-Natal Drakensberg)