''Iolaus australis'', the eastern sapphire, 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 ...

in 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

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

and

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

. The habitat consists of ''

Brachystegia ''Brachystegia'' is a genus of tree of the subfamily Detarioideae that is native to tropical Africa. Trees of the genus are commonly known as miombo, and are dominant in the miombo woodlands of central and southern tropical Africa. The Zambezian ...

'' woodland. There are probably two generations per year, with adults on wing from June to September and again from February to April. The larvae feed on the leaves of ''

Tapinanthus oleifolius Tapinanthus_oleifolius.html"_;"title="Haustorium_and_fruit_of_''Tapinanthus_oleifolius">Haustorium_and_fruit_of_''Tapinanthus_oleifolius'' file:Amethyst_sunbird,_Chalcomitra_amethystina,_female_at_Kloofendal_Nature_Reserve,_Johannesburg,_South_ ...

'', '' Tapinanthus erianthus'', ''

Tapinanthus dependens Tapinanthus_oleifolius.html"_;"title="Haustorium_and_fruit_of_''Tapinanthus_oleifolius">Haustorium_and_fruit_of_''Tapinanthus_oleifolius'' file:Amethyst_sunbird,_Chalcomitra_amethystina,_female_at_Kloofendal_Nature_Reserve,_Johannesburg,_South_ ...

'', '' Agelanthus subulatus'', '' Vanwykia rubella'', '' Erianthemum dregei'', '' Phragmanthera usuiensis usuiensis'', '' Globimetula anguliflora'', '' Globimetula braunii'', '' Globimetula mweroensis'' and '' Helixanthera tetrapartita''. They are dark grey brown.

References

Butterflies described in 1937 Iolaus (butterfly) {{Theclinae-stub