''Zizeeria karsandra'', the dark grass blue, is a small

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

first described by

Frederic Moore Frederic Moore FZS (13 May 1830 – 10 May 1907) was a British entomologist and illustrator. He produced six volumes of ''Lepidoptera Indica'' and a catalogue of the birds in the collection of the East India Company. It has been said that Mo ...

in 1865. It is found from the southern

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

, in a broad band to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, the

Andaman Andaman may refer to: * Andaman Islands * Andaman Sea * ''Andaman'' (1998 film), a Kannada-language film * ''Andaman'' (2016 film), a Tamil-language film * ''Andaman'' (2021 film), a Hindi-language film See also * Andaman and Nicobar Islands ...

and Nicobar islands,

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, Arabia,

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

and

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

and northern and eastern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It belongs to the lycaenids or blues family, and the tribe

Polyommatini Polyommatini is a tribe of lycaenid butterflies in the subfamily of Polyommatinae. These were extensively studied by Russian novelist and lepidopterist Vladimir Nabokov. Genera Genera in this tribe include: * ''Actizera'' * ''Acytolepis'' * '' ...

. (1973)
"The higher classification of the Lycaenidae (Lepidoptera): a tentative arrangement"
''Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Entomology''. 28: 371-505.

Description

described this species on 1865 as: "Upperside purple-brown. Underside greyish brown, exterior margins defined by a brown line: fore wing with a spot within discoidal cell, a discocellular streak, a spot above it, and a transverse discal series of six spots black, each encircled with white; a marginal and submarginal row of pale brown, white-bordered lunules: hind wing with a series of twelve black spots, and a pale discocellular streak, encircled with white; a marginal row of pale brown, whitish-encircled spots, and a submarginal row of whitish lunules: cilia greyish brown."

Food plants

The recorded food plants include: * '' Zornia diphylla'' * ''

Amaranthus viridis ''Amaranthus viridis'' is a cosmopolitan species in the botanical family Amaranthaceae and is commonly known as slender amaranth or green amaranth. Description ''Amaranthus viridis'' is an annual herb with an upright, light green stem that grows ...

'' (in association with the ant ''

Tapinoma melanocephalum ''Tapinoma melanocephalum'' is a species of ant that goes by the common name ghost ant. They are recognised by their dark head and pale or translucent legs and gaster (abdomen). This colouring makes this tiny ant seem even smaller. Descript ...

'') * ''

Amaranthus tricolor ''Amaranthus tricolor'', known as edible amaranth, is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Amaranthus'', part of the family Amaranthaceae. The plant is often cultivated for ornamental and culinary purposes. It is known as bireum in Korea ...

'' * ''

'' * '' Melilotus indica'' * ''

Medicago sativa Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, and silage, as we ...

'' * '' Zornia diphylla'' * ''

Trifolium alexandrinum ''Trifolium alexandrinum'' (Egyptian clover, berseem clover) is an annual clover cultivated mostly in irrigated sub-tropical regions, and used as leguminous crop. It is an important winter crop in Egypt, where it may have been cultivated since an ...

'' * '' Glinus lotoides'' * ''

Tribulus cistoides ''Tribulus cistoides'', also called wanglo (in Aruba), the Jamaican feverplant or puncture vine, is a species of flowering plant in the family Zygophyllaceae, which is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions. Habitat Tribulus Cist ...

'' * ''

Tribulus terrestris ''Tribulus terrestris'' is an annual plant in the caltrop family (Zygophyllaceae) widely distributed around the world. It is adapted to thrive in dry climate locations in which few other plants can survive. It is native to warm temperate and t ...

Gallery

File:Flora and Fauna Savandurga Karnataka (35).jpg, Upperside (male) File:Zizeeria karsandra female up.jpg, Upperside (female) Image:Dark_Grass_Blue_(Zizeeria_karsandra)_in_Hyderabad,_AP_W_IMG_7950.jpg, In

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

, India

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1768144 Dark Grass Blue butterfly

Polyommatini Butterflies of Asia Butterflies of Oceania Butterflies of Australia Butterflies of Indochina Butterflies of Indonesia Butterflies of Malaysia Lepidoptera of New Guinea Lepidoptera of the Philippines Lepidoptera of Thailand Insects of the Middle East Insects of Myanmar Butterflies described in 1865 Taxa named by Frederic Moore