Lepidochrysops asteris
Encyclopedia
The Star Blue or Brilliant Blue (Lepidochrysops asteris) is a butterfly
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...

 of the Lycaenidae
Lycaenidae
The Lycaenidae are the second-largest family of butterflies, with about 6000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies...

 family. It is found in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, where it is known from the West Cape, along the Rivieronderendberge and the Rooiberg along the coastal ranges to the East Cape and the KwaZulu-Natal midlands.

The wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...

 is 32-40 mm for males and 27-44 mm for females. Adults are on wing from September to November and from February to March in two generations per year from Port Elizabeth northwards. Adults of southern populations are on wing from November to December in one generation.

The larvae feed on Selago
Selago
Selago is a genus of plant in family Scrophulariaceae. It contains the following species :* Selago lepida, Hilliard* Selago nachtigalii, Rolfe...

 species (including Selago serrata), Becium burchellianum and Plectranthus grandidentatus.
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