Hypolycaena hatita, the common fairy hairstreak, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi and Zambia.[2] The habitat consists of primary forests and dense secondary growth.
| Common fairy hairstreak | |
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| H. h. hatita Kakum National Park, Ghana | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Lycaenidae |
| Genus: | Hypolycaena |
| Species: | H. hatita
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| Binomial name | |
| Hypolycaena hatita | |
| Synonyms | |
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Adult males have been recorded feeding from bird droppings and are occasionally seen mud-puddling.
The larvae feed on Syzygium species.
Subspecies
edit- Hypolycaena hatita hatita — Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria: south and the Cross River loop, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo: Mongala, Uele, Ituri, Tshopo, Tshuapa, Kinshasa, Cataractes, Bas-Fleuve, Sankuru and Maniema
- Hypolycaena hatita japhusa Riley, 1921 — western Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia: from the Copperbelt northwards, Democratic Republic of Congo: Shaba
- Hypolycaena hatita ugandae Sharpe, 1904 — Uganda, western Kenya, north-western Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo: Lualaba, Lomani and Kivu
References
edit- ^ Hypolycaena at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
- ^ "Afrotropical Butterflies: Lycaenidae - Subtribe Hypolycaenina". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2012-07-20.
External links
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