Bug FAQMarsyas Hairstreak
Pseudolycaena marsyas · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Lycaenidae
Also called: Giant Hairstreak, Cambridge Blue
The Marsyas hairstreak has a wingspan of about 40 to 50 mm, which is large for hairstreaks. Its upper wings are metallic blue, ranging from cobalt to turquoise, with black-tipped apices in males and a small black spot on the tailed hindwings. It lives in many South-American habitats, often semi-open forests up to 1,000 m elevation, and has occasional records on the wet Atlantic coast of Central America.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Upper wing surfaces are metallic blue, from cobalt to turquoise, with black apices in males and a small black spot on the tailed hindwings. Undersides are pale blue-grey with several black spots and thin markings.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Wingspan is about 40 to 50 mm (1.6 to 2.0 in), large for hairstreaks.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
Found in many habitats across South America, often in semi-open forests up to 1,000 m elevation.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Occurs across South America down to Argentina. Also recorded occasionally on the wet Atlantic coast of Central America.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Lycaenidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudolycaena_marsyas
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.