Assessor: Dave Edge
Sensitive in 2010
No
Family
Lycaenidae
Exploitation extent
None - this species and its close relatives are not exploited, collected, traded or utilized in a targeted manner.
Population vulnerability
Population is vulnerable: size is <= 2500 mature individuals OR the number of known subpopulations is <= 5 OR range is <= 100km2 OR species at risk of localised extinctions
Justification and references
This species was described in 2013 and was too late to be assessed for the 2013 Butterfly Atlas.
Henning, G.A. & Ball, J.B. 2013. A new species of Lepidochrysops Hedicke, 1923 (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) from the Northern Cape, South Africa. Metamorphosis 23: 1-7.
http://www.metamorphosis.org.za/articlesPDF/3/Metamorphosis%2023_1-7%20Henning%20&%20Ball.pdf
The recent conservation assessment done for the 2018 NBA assessed it as "Least Concern-Rare - Restricted Range".
Regeneration potential
This species has a slow population growth rate, or the growth rate varies depending on habitat, and there is a poor chance the wild populations will recover from exploitation OR a collector might feasibly harvest the entire extant population removing the chance of subsequent recruitment.