''Anthene lachares'', the silky ciliate blue, is a
butterfly in the family
Lycaenidae. It is found in
Sierra Leone,
Liberia
Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...
,
Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...
,
Ghana,
Nigeria,
Cameroon,
Gabon, the
Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...
, the
Central African Republic,
Angola, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo and
Uganda.
The habitat consists of primary forests and dense secondary forests.
Adult males
mud-puddle.
The larvae are green and onisciform (
woodlouse shaped), but become reddish with oblique lighter stripes just before pupation. They are usually found under leaves in groups of two to eight and are always attended by ants, including
''Pheidole aurivillii'' race ''kasaiensis'' and ''
Pheidole rotundata
''Pheidole'' is a genus of ants that belongs to the ant subfamily Myrmicinae. The genus is widespread and ecologically dominant. It probably includes more than 1000 species. The genus first evolved in the Americas, eventually spreading across ...
''.
Subspecies
*''Anthene lachares lachares'' (Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria: south and Cross River loop, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Central African Republic, Angola, western Democratic Republic of the Congo)
*''Anthene lachares toroensis''
Stempffer, 1947 (Central African Republic: Bangui, Democratic Republic of the Congo: east to Ituri, western Uganda)
References
Butterflies described in 1878
Anthene
Butterflies of Africa
Taxa named by William Chapman Hewitson
{{Lycaenesthini-stub