Common grass blue
This specimen, perched on a rose, is approximately 10 mm in size
At Cape Hillsborough National Park, Australia
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Lycaenidae
Genus:	Zizina
Species:	Z. labradus
Binomial name
Zizina labradus (Godart, [1824])[1][2]
Subspecies
Z. l. labdalon Z. l. labradus

Zizina labradus, the common grass blue, grass blue,^[3] or clover blue,^[4] is a small Australian butterfly of the family Lycaenidae.

Description

Adult feeding from Cotoneaster sp.

Adults are purplish blue on the upper wing surface with a black body and black or brown wing margins. These margins are larger on the female than the male.^[5] The lower wing surface is brown to pale brownish grey with a pattern of fawn bands and spots,^[4][6] with the body covered in white or grey hairs. The wingspans of females are slightly larger than males, females having a wingspan of 23 mm and males 20 mm.^[5] Common grass blues have a weak, fluttering flight and so usually fly near ground level close to a food source.^[5]

Eggs are white or pale blue and have a mandarin shape with a pitted surface.^[5] Caterpillars reach about 7 mm in length, and their appearance is primarily green with a yellow stripe at the sides and a darker green stripe on the back, and brown or black head usually obscured under the thorax.^[6] In captivity, fed on an artificial diet, larvae come in highly variable colours, ranging from white through red to dark purple.^[5] Pupa are 10 mm long with erect hairs. Colouration varies, ranging from pink, greyish or greenish cream and contains mottled dark spots.^[5]

Distribution

The subspecies Zizina labradus labradus is found over most of continental Australia, as well as on Lord Howe Island,^[6] Norfolk Island, and Christmas Island,^[7] while the subspecies Zizina labradus labdalon is restricted mainly to Cape York Peninsula.^[6] The common grass blue is often misidentified as the lesser grass blue, Zizina otis.^[6]

Zizina labradus labradus, as its name suggests, is very common and can be found in suburban gardens, particularly perching in grass; lawns and fields.^[5]

Growth

Single eggs are laid which can hatch in a matter of days.^[6] The eggs are laid on leaves, stems, flower buds and young pods of food plants, chiefly legumes of the family Fabaceae such as beans, clover, and various native species ^[5][6] including Cullen australasicum (Tall Scurf-pea); Hardenbergia violacea (Native Lilac); Kennedia prostrata (Running Postman); and Lotus australis (Austral Trefoil).^[8] Newly hatched larvae eat small holes from young leaves or flower buds, and later feed mainly inside flowers.^[5] The larvae are considered a minor pest and will feed on leguminous plants such as garden beans by eating a small hole into the pods and then devouring the soft seeds within.^[5] In captivity when food is scarce the larger larvae will cannibalize smaller ones.^[5]

The larvae are typically attended by ants of the genera Paratrechina, Rhytidoponera, and Tapinoma.^[4]

The pupa attaches to the lower leaf surface of the food plants with anal hooks and a central girdle.^[5][6]

References

Wikispecies has information related to Zizina labradus.

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