Pale Grass Blue (Pseudozizeeria maha) lives in open grasslands across Asia. It feeds on grasses and leaves.
Fascinating facts about the Pale Grass Blue
- The male's wet-season upperside shines a silvery light blue that catches a satiny sheen when light strikes it. This bright hue sits beside a narrow black margin along the forewing costa and a variable dark terminal edge, both bounded by a faint anteciliary line. The hindwing mirrors this pattern with a similarly broad black border and a diffuse sub-terminal series of darker spots. Below, the wings are a muted brownish-grey, completing the seasonal contrast.
- In the dry season the male's forewing edge can expand dramatically, sometimes forming a black band that occupies about the outer sixth of the wing and merges with the anteciliary line. The black terminal edging may be a very narrow strip or broaden into a patch at the apex, while the hindwing's edge is usually reduced to a slender anteciliary line with occasional inner spots.
- Japanese researchers have employed the pale grass blue as a bio-indicator to gauge the impact of pollen from transgenic Bt corn on its host plants. A study in Japan used this species to detect the side-effects of transgenic Bt corn, particularly by way of pollen falling onto leaves of the Oxalis host plants.
- Japanese researchers employed the pale grass blue to monitor any impact of transgenic Bt corn pollen that landed on its Oxalis host plants, using the butterfly as a bio-indicator. The experiment specifically looked for measurable harm to the insects after exposure to the pollen. Results showed that the pollen did not cause any detectable damage, confirming that the Bt corn had no significant effect on this species.
- After the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, Japanese scientists examined pale grass blue butterflies from affected areas and recorded a noticeable increase in physical abnormalities among the individuals. The research linked these deformities to radiation exposure following the incident. This rise in abnormalities highlights the species' sensitivity to environmental radiation stress.
Sources
Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.
At a glance
RangeAsia
HabitatOpen grasslands
DietGrasses and leaves
About the Pale Grass Blue
As the sun rises over the dew-kissed meadows, the Pale Grass Blue begins its delicate dance, its iridescent wings beating in a hypnotic rhythm as it flits from blade to blade in search of sweet nectar. With an ethereal lightness, it wafts through the grasses, its pale blue hue shimmering like the faintest whisper of a summer sky, as it navigates the intricate web of life with an unassuming elegance. In this fleeting, diaphanous world, the Pale Grass Blue is a master of gentle precision, its very existence a testament to the beauty of subtlety and restraint.
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