Tiny grass blue
This tiny blue butterfly is common across gardens and grassy waste ground throughout tropical Asia and Africa, yet at just over one centimetre across it is easy to overlook.
| Where | Open grassland, forest edges and gardens |
|---|---|
| Size | 11 to 15 mm wingspan |
| When | January to December |
The Tiny grass blue is a very small butterfly, the male a dull violet blue above with brown wing margins, the female plain glossy brown without any blue tint. The grey underside of both sexes carries small black spots neatly ringed in white.
Caterpillars feed on low growing plants in the Acanthaceae family among others, and the species breeds throughout the year wherever its host plants grow in grassy, open ground.
Traits
Habitat
Grassland
Colour
Blue, Brown, Grey
Active
Day
To people
One of the smallest blue butterflies, often overlooked among grass and roadside flowers; harmless to people.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Its hindwing underside shows a row of black spots crowned with pale orange near the margin, a marking the Tiny grass blue's underside lacks, its spots being ringed only in white.
Questions
Is the Tiny grass blue dangerous to people?
One of the smallest blue butterflies, often overlooked among grass and roadside flowers; harmless to people.
When can you see the Tiny grass blue?
The Tiny grass blue can be seen from January to December, by day.
Plate retouched from a museum specimen photo by Swiss Natural History Collections - SwissNatColl, CC BY 4.0, GBIF Licence
Report a mistake in this entry
Butterflies and moths›Blues and coppers›Zizula
Last updated 2026-09-27. Every entry is checked against published sources.