Euchrysops crawshayi, Crawshay's blue, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[2] The habitat consists of moist savanna.

Euchrysops crawshayi
Figure 2
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Lycaenidae
Genus: Euchrysops
Species:
E. crawshayi
Binomial name
Euchrysops crawshayi
(Butler, 1899)[1]
Synonyms
  • Scolitantides crawshayi Butler, 1899
  • Scolitantides subdita Grose-Smith, 1901
  • Cupido crawshayanus Aurivillius, 1924

The larvae feed on Anchusa species, Cynoglossum coeruleum and Cynoglossum lanceolatum. They feed on the fleshy outer cortex of the main tap root of the host plant, always below ground. They are attended by many species of ants, including Monomorium minutum var. pallipes.

Subspecies edit

  • Euchrysops crawshayi crawshayi (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, southern Sudan)
  • Euchrysops crawshayi fontainei Stempffer, 1967 (Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo: east to South Kivu, north-western Tanzania)

References edit

  1. ^ Euchrysops at Markku Savela's website on Lepidoptera
  2. ^ "Afrotropical Butterflies: Lycaenidae - Tribe Polyommatini (part 1)". Archived from the original on 2013-12-13. Retrieved 2012-07-11.