Zizina labradus
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Zizina labradus, the common grass blue, grass blue, or clover blue, is a small Australian butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. Adults are purplish blue on the upper wing surface with a black body and black or brown wing margins. These margins are larger on the female than the male. The lower wing surface is brown to pale brownish grey with a pattern of fawn bands and spots, with the body covered in white or grey hairs. The wingspans of females are slightly larger than males, females having a wingspan of 23 mm and males 20 mm. Common grass blues have a weak, fluttering flight and so usually fly near ground level close to a food source.
Eggs are white or pale blue and have a mandarin shape with a pitted surface. Caterpillars reach about 7 mm in length, and their appearance is primarily green with a yellow stripe at the sides and a darker green stripe on the back, and brown or black head usually obscured under the thorax. In captivity, fed on an artificial diet, larvae come in highly variable colours, ranging from white through red to dark purple. Pupa are 10 mm long with erect hairs. Colouration varies, ranging from pink, greyish or greenish cream and contains mottled... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hattah-Kulkyne National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Grampians National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Great Otway National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Kosciuszko National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Lamington National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 7 | Springbrook National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 8 | Wilsons Promontory National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 9 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 10 | Egmont National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 11 | Abel Tasman National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Zizina labradus sighting in Perth on a given day, based on 25 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 92nd most-seen of the 275 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September to February
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Zizina labradus in Perth on a given day, against under 5% in March to August, the lowest months. Those are among Perth's driest months, with about 30 mm of rain a month against 130 mm in July.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Zizina labradus sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 5 cities where we can rate Zizina labradus sightings, Perth ranks 5th at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Melbourne (Australia, about 10%), Auckland (New Zealand, about 10%) and Brisbane (Australia, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Zizina labradus is recorded against all the insects logged in Perth (25 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.
