African Sky Blue… African Grass Blue

South Africa’s most common butterfly flies low and adapts well to a wide variety of conditions.

African Grass Blue (male, upper side) (Photograph: Justin Bode)

The blue of the African sky is something we all love—and something that those in the African diaspora miss the most, especially those in the Northern Hemisphere. It inspired the famous Johnny Clegg song “African Sky Blue”.

A more subtle shade of that African blue is evident in the wings of African Grass Blue butterfly (Zizeeria knysna lnysna). Also known as the African Sooty Blueor Duwweltjie Bloutjie, this butterfly is part of the family Lycaenidae.

They are tiny dull blue or violet butterflies, the males measuring 18mm to 23mm and the females 21mm to 26mm. They have a brownish-grey underside with a series of black spots ringed in creamy white. They are sexually dimorphic with the male upper side dull violaceous blue and the female a sombre brown with a variable amount of brighter basal blue.

These small insects are moisture-loving and have adapted well to cultivated areas where irrigation maintains vegetation even in hot conditions. It is widespread across Africa with sporadic populations in Spain and Cyprus.

The African Grass Blue perhaps the most common butterfly in South Africa, from sea level to the highest mountains and wet forests to the arid savannah. However, they are absent from the Nama Karroo and desert areas more generally.

Its preferred habitat is short grasses, lawns and meadows, as their name suggests. It flies very low, staying close to the ground while searching for nectar or host plants. It often settles on grass stems.

The caterpillars feast on a variety of plants, including Glinus lotoides, Paramollugo nudicaulis, Tribulus terrestris, Amaranthus deflexus and Amaranthus viridis, Oxalis corniculata, Medicago sativa, Zaleya pentandra and Zornia species.