Bush Blue
Cacyreus lingeus (?)
This butterfly was observed on a muddy bank of the Sosiani River, west of Eldoret, Kenya, Dec. 2015.
Some butterflies tend to fold their wings over their backs when perched while others tend to splay them parallel to the ground. Many butterflies use their wing surfaces to regulate insolation and thereby body temperature; when the wings are held out the insect is usually attempting to warm itself in the sun. In many butterflies the reverse side has a very different color pattern than the top surface. The upper wing surface of Cacyreus is uniform blue-brown with a narrow checkered-white border. There are some ten different species in Africa with several recorded from Kenya.