Iolaus alienus

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Iolaus alienus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Lycaenidae
Genus: Iolaus
Species: I. alienus
Binomial name
Iolaus alienus
(Trimen, 1898)[1]
Synonyms
  • Epamera alienus Trimen, 1898
  • Jolaus bicaudatus Aurivillius, 1905

The Brown-line Sapphire (Iolaus alienus) is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found in most of sub-Saharan Africa.

The wingspan is 33–37 mm for males and 35–40 mm for females. Adults are on wing from August to November (with a peak in September) and sometimes again from April to May in South Africa. There are two generations per year.[2]

Larvae have been reported on Loranthus species. The larvae of ssp. alienus feed on Tapinanthus brunneus, Tapinanthus subulatus, Oliverella rubroviridis and Helixanthera kirkii.

Subspecies

  • Iolaus alienus alienus (from KwaZulu-Natal and Transvaal to Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, southern Tanzania)
  • Iolaus alienus bicaudatus Aurivillius, 1905 (northern Cameroon, northern Nigeria, Upper Volta)
  • Iolaus alienus ugandae Stempffer, 1953 (Kenya, Uganda, southern Sudan)
  • Iolaus alienus sophiae Henning & Henning, 1991

References

  1. Iolaus, Site of Markku Savela
  2. Woodhall, S. Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa, Cape Town: Struik Publishers, 2005.

External links



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