''Iolaus alcibiades'', the giant sapphire, is a
butterfly in the family
Lycaenidae. It is found in
Guinea
Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
,
Sierra Leone,
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,
Togo,
Nigeria (south and the
Cross River loop),
Cameroon,
Bioko,
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 ...
and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (
Équateur and
Lulua).
The habitat consists of forests and more open habitats.
The larvae feed on the flowers of ''
Loranthus incanus''. They are associated with the ant species ''
Crematogaster buchneri
''Crematogaster buchneri'' is a species of ant in tribe Crematogastrini
Crematogastrini is a tribe of myrmicine ants
Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymen ...
''.
References
External links
''Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde'' 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 67''f''
Butterflies described in 1871
Iolaus (butterfly)
Butterflies of Africa
Taxa named by William Forsell Kirby
{{Theclinae-stub