Bug FAQAfrican Grass Blue
Zizeeria knysna · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Lycaenidae
Also called: Dark Grass Blue, Sooty Blue
The African grass blue is a small blue butterfly with a wingspan of about 18 to 26 mm, males being a bit smaller than females. It lives across Africa and also appears on Cyprus and the Iberian Peninsula, where it can be seen flying almost all year round. Its caterpillars eat a variety of low plants such as Medicago, Melilotus and Oxalis.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Zizeeria knysna is known as the African grass blue, a species of blue butterfly in the Lycaenidae family.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Males have a wingspan of 18 to 23 mm, while females are slightly larger at 21 to 26 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
This butterfly is found throughout Africa and also on Cyprus and the Iberian Peninsula.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Adults are on the wing for most of the year, flying nearly year-round.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
The species can be seen flying almost throughout the entire year.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its native range includes Africa, Cyprus and the Iberian Peninsula.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It is sometimes mistakenly called Zizeeria lysimon, but that name is invalid because it is already used for a different butterfly.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Lycaenidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zizeeria_knysna
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.