''Iolaus parasilanus'', the friendly sapphire, is a
butterfly in the family
Lycaenidae. It is found in
Ghana,
Nigeria,
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 ...
,
Angola, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Uganda,
Kenya and
Tanzania.
The habitat consists of forests.
The larvae feed on ''
Loranthus'' species, ''
Phragmanthera usuiensis usuiensis'', ''
Phragmanthera polycrypta
Phragmanthera is a genus of plants in the family Loranthaceae
Loranthaceae, commonly known as the showy mistletoes, is a family of flowering plants. It consists of about 75 genera and 1,000 species of woody plants, many of them hemiparasites ...
'' and ''
Phragmanthera brieyi''.
Subspecies
*''Iolaus parasilanus parasilanus'' (Democratic Republic of the Congo: South Kivu, western Tanzania)
*''Iolaus parasilanus divaricatus''
(Riley, 1928) (Uganda, western Kenya, north-western Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo: Uele, Ituri, North Kivu and Tshopo)
*''Iolaus parasilanus mabillei''
(Riley, 1928) (Gabon, Congo, Angola: Cabinda, Democratic Republic of the Congo: Equateur)
*''Iolaus parasilanus maesseni''
(Stempffer & Bennett, 1958) (Ghana, Nigeria: south and the Cross River loop)
References
Butterflies described in 1914
Iolaus (butterfly)
{{Theclinae-stub