Lepidochrysops variabilis

Lepidochrysops variabilis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Lycaenidae
Genus:	Lepidochrysops
Species:	L. variabilis
Binomial name
Lepidochrysops variabilis Cottrell, 1965[1]

The Variable Blue (Lepidochrysops variabilis) is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found in South Africa, from the Cape Peninsula, inland along the western mountains to southern Namaqualand, along the eastern Drakensberg to the East Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, the Orange Free State, Lesotho, Mpumalanga, the southern Limpopo Province, then west to the central Limpopo Province, the North West Province and the hills of Gauteng. It is also found in eastern Zimbabwe.

The wingspan is 28–35 mm for males and 34–37 mm for females. Adults are on wing from September to February (with peaks in October and January). There are two generations per year, but only one at high altitudes with adults on wing from December to January.^[2]

The larvae feed on Selago species (including Selago corymbosa), Ocimum and Salvia species. Third and later instar larvae feed on the brood of Camponotus niveosetus ants.

References

1. Lepidochrysops, Site of Markku Savela
2. Woodhall, S. Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa, Cape Town: Struik Publishers, 2005.