Lepidochrysops ketsi
Encyclopedia
The Ketsi Blue 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...

.

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 32-35 mm for males and 32-33 mm for females. Adults are on wing from October to March, with peaks in November and January. There are two generations per year.

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 corymbosa and Selago geniculata and Salvia
Salvia
Salvia is the largest genus of plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae, with approximately 700-900 species of shrubs, herbaceous perennials, and annuals. It is one of several genera commonly referred to as sage. When used without modifiers, sage generally refers to Salvia officinalis ; however, it is...

species.

Subspecies

  • Lepidochrysops ketsi ketsi (West Cape, along the East Cape mountains to Lesotho, the Orange Free State, the KwaZulu-Natal hills and highveld in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, the Limpopo Province and the North West Province)
  • Lepidochrysops ketsi leucomacula Henning & Henning, 1994 (coastal grassland and savannah in the East Cape and KwaZulu-Natal)
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