Hemiolaus caeculus
Species of butterfly
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hemiolaus caeculus, the azure hairstreak, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in East and southern Africa.
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| Azure hairstreak | |
|---|---|
| |
| Summer form of the nominate subsp. in Mpumalanga, South Africa | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Lycaenidae |
| Genus: | Hemiolaus |
| Species: | H. caeculus |
| Binomial name | |
| Hemiolaus caeculus | |
| Synonyms | |
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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
