Zizula hylax
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
Zizula hylax, the tiny grass blue, is a species of blue butterfly. Male upperside: dull violet blue, which changes to a brighter tint of violet in certain lights. Forewing: the costa very narrowly, the termen much more broadly dull brown; this edging to the termen in most specimens decreases in width from apex to tornus, and is outwardly followed by an anteciliary darker brown line. Cilia brownish anteriorly, posteriorly brownish at the base with the apical portions white. Hindwing: the ground colour brighter than on the forewing, the costal and terminal margins much more narrowly edged with brown, which edging is merged in the anteciliary dark brown line. Cilia: brown along their basal halves, white apically.
Underside: grey. Forewing: a dusky brown lunular line on the discocellulars; two subcostal spots above the cell, one on either side of the discocellular lunule; a very strongly curved discal series of five spots, of which the posterior three are somewhat lunular in shape and placed obliquely en echelon, the next above these hook shaped, the anterior spot round; both the subcostal spots and the spots of the discal series are black, each narrowly encircled with... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keoladeo National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Daintree National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Tiny Grass Blue sighting in Lusaka on a given day, based on 17 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 21st most-seen of the 72 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Tiny Grass Blue in Lusaka on a given day, against under 5% in June, August and November–March, the lowest months. That is one of Lusaka's driest months, with almost no rain against 210 mm in January.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Tiny Grass Blue sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
9th of 45
Of the 45 cities where we can rate Tiny Grass Blue sightings, Lusaka ranks 9th at about 20%. The best odds are in Salem (India, about 40%), Madurai (India, about 40%) and Vadodara (India, about 40%).
Same family: Lycaenidae
The closest relatives of the Tiny Grass Blue that you can see in Lusaka (family Lycaenidae, Gossamer-winged Butterflies) are African Grass Blue (about 90%), Lemolea Harvester (about 60%) and Geranium Bronze (about 60%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Tiny Grass Blue is recorded against all the insects logged in Lusaka (17 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
