''Hemiolaus caeculus'', the azure hairstreak, is a

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

of the family

Lycaenidae Lycaenidae is the second-largest family of butterflies (behind Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflies), with over 6,000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies. They constitute about 30% of the known butterfl ...

. It is found in

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

and

southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...

. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

is 30–35 mm for males and 34–38 mm for females. Adults are on wing year round with peaks after rains. The larvae feed on ''

Olax ''Olax'' is a plant genus in the family Olacaceae. The name derives from the Latin, ''olax'' (malodorous), and refers to the unpleasant scent of some of the ''Olax'' species. ''Olax'' is an Old World genus represented by several climbers, som ...

'' species, including '' Olax dissitiflora'' and '' Olax obtusifolia''.

Subspecies

left, 120px, In Seitz (1910) *''Hemiolaus caeculus caeculus'' —

Cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Malawi, eastern Zambia, south-eastern Tanzania *''Hemiolaus caeculus littoralis'' Stempffer, 1954 — coast of eastern Kenya and eastern Tanzania,

Usambara Mountains The Usambara Mountains of northeastern Tanzania in tropical East Africa, comprise the easternmost ranges of the Eastern Arc Mountains. The ranges of approximately long and about half that wide, are situated in the Lushoto District of the Tang ...

*''Hemiolaus caeculus vividus'' Pinhey, 1962 — western Zambia, south-western Tanzania, southern Zaire (south-eastern Shaba) *''Hemiolaus caeculus tsodiloensis'' (Pinhey, 1969) — northern Botswana

References

External links

''Die Großschmetterlinge der Erde'' 13: Die afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 67
''b'' also (synonym) as ''dolores'' Suffert, 1904 Butterflies described in 1855 Hypolycaenini {{Theclinae-stub