Uranothauma falkensteini

Uranothauma falkensteini, the lowland branded blue, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae.

Lowland branded blue
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Lycaenidae
Genus: Uranothauma
Species:
U. falkensteini
Binomial name
Uranothauma falkensteini
(Dewitz, 1879)[1]
Synonyms
  • Plebeius (Lampides) falkensteini Dewitz, 1879
  • Uranothauma falkensteini f. umbra Talbot, 1935
  • Uranothauma falkensteini f. albescens Stoneham, 1937

Range and habitat edit

 
At Bobiri Forest in Ghana

It is found in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria (south and the Cross River loop), Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, Angola, the DRC, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.[2] The habitat consists of forests.

Habits and food plants edit

Adult males are attracted to damp patches and traps baited with fish, prawn or toad. Both sexes are attracted to flowers. The larvae feed on Acacia abyssinica, Albizia adianthifolia and Albizia gummifera. They feed on the young shoots of their host plant.

References edit

  1. ^ Uranothauma at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and some other life forms
  2. ^ Afrotropical Butterflies: Lycaenidae - Tribe Polyommatini (part 1)