Hemiolaus caeculus
Appearance
Azure hairstreak | |
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Summer form of the nominate subsp. in Mpumalanga, South Africa | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Family: | Lycaenidae |
Genus: | Hemiolaus |
Species: | H. caeculus
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Binomial name | |
Hemiolaus caeculus | |
Synonyms | |
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Hemiolaus caeculus, the azure hairstreak, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in East and southern Africa.
The wingspan is 30–35 mm for males and 34–38 mm for females. Adults are on wing year round with peaks after rains.[2]
The larvae feed on Olax species, including Olax dissitiflora and Olax obtusifolia.
Subspecies
[edit]- Hemiolaus caeculus caeculus — Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Transvaal, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Malawi, eastern Zambia, south-eastern Tanzania
- Hemiolaus caeculus littoralis Stempffer, 1954 — coast of eastern Kenya and eastern Tanzania, Usambara Mountains
- Hemiolaus caeculus vividus Pinhey, 1962 — western Zambia, south-western Tanzania, southern Zaire (south-eastern Shaba)
- Hemiolaus caeculus tsodiloensis (Pinhey, 1969) — northern Botswana
References
[edit]Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hemiolaus caeculus.
Wikispecies has information related to Hemiolaus caeculus.
- ^ Hypolycaena at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
- ^ Woodhall, Steve (2005). Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN 978-1-86872-724-7.
External links
[edit]- Die Großschmetterlinge der Erde 13: Die afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 67 b also (synonym) as dolores Suffert, 1904