Hemiolaus caeculus

Hemiolaus caeculus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Lycaenidae
Genus: Hemiolaus
Species: H. caeculus
Binomial name
Hemiolaus caeculus
(Hopffer, 1855)[1]
Synonyms
  • Hypolycaena caeculus (Hopffer, 1855)
  • Iolaus caeculus Hopffer, 1855
  • Hypolycaena dolores Suffert, 1904
  • Hypolycaena caeculus obscurus Suffert, 1904
  • Hypolycaena caeculus ab. duponti Dufrane, 1953
  • Iolaus caeculus tsodiloensis Pinhey, 1969

The Azure Hairstreak (Hemiolaus caeculus) is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found in 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

  • 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)
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References

  1. ^ Hypolycaena, Site of Markku Savela
  2. ^ Woodhall, S. Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa, Cape Town: Struik Publishers, 2005.
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Last modified on 21 March 2013, at 10:30