Hemiolaus caeculus

Hemiolaus caeculus, the azure hairstreak, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in southern Africa.

Hemiolaus caeculus
Hemiolaus caeculus caeculus, South Africa
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 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)
Hypolycaena caeculus
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References
  1. Hypolycaena at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
  2. Woodhall, Steve (2005). Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN 978-1-86872-724-7.


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