''Iolaus silas'', the southern sapphire, is a
butterfly of the family
Lycaenidae which is endemic to
South Africa.
Range
It occurs from the southeastern
Nama Karoo in the
Eastern Cape
The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha.
The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...
(
Somerset East and
Bedford areas), and along the eastern littoral to northern
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 ...
.
It is present in
spekboomveld, coastal savannah and lowland forest.
Description and biology
The
wingspan is 32–37 mm for males and 34–41 mm for females. Adults are on wing year round in warmer areas and from September to January in the southern part of its range.
[ The larvae feed on various ]mistletoes
Mistletoe is the common name for obligate hemiparasitic plants in the order Santalales. They are attached to their host tree or shrub by a structure called the haustorium, through which they extract water and nutrients from the host plant.
...
, namely '' Moquiniella rubra'', ''Erianthemum dregei
''Erianthemum dregei'' is a species of parasitic plant in the family Loranthaceae, and is commonly known as the hairy mistletoe or wood flower.
Distribution and habitat
These plants are native to Africa and are parasitic on a large number of tr ...
'' and '' Loranthus usuiensis''.
References
External links
''Die Großschmetterlinge der Erde'' 13: Die afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 67
female ''d'', male ''g''
Iolaus (butterfly)
Butterflies described in 1851
Endemic butterflies of South Africa
{{Theclinae-stub