Pale Grass Blue

Zizeeria maha ossa ( Swinhoe) LYCAENIDAE

Adult upperside male pale with black bordered wings. Female dark brown with basal blue scaling. Underside with a row of metallic spots in the margin and a few scattered spots in the base. Wingspan 26-30mm.

Largest of the Indian Grass Blues, widely distributed and more abundant during post-monsoon months. Flies very closely to the ground in weak flight for shorter distance only . visits flowers of Common Heliotrope and Heliotropium strigosum.

Larva

Pale green. Head black and body with a faint darker dorsal line and covered with long white hairs.

Feeds on Indian sorrel, conehead, tephrosia pauciflora, nelsonia spp. Etc.

Distribution

India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar.