Iolaus alienus, the brown-line sapphire, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in most of Sub-Saharan Africa.
| Iolaus alienus | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Lycaenidae |
| Genus: | Iolaus |
| Species: | I. alienus
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| Binomial name | |
| Iolaus alienus | |
| Synonyms | |
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The wingspan is 33–37 mm for males and 35–40 mm for females. Adults are on wing from August to November (with a peak in September) and sometimes again from April to May in South Africa. There are two generations per year.[2]
Larvae have been reported on Loranthus species. The larvae of subspecies I. a. alienus feed on Tapinanthus brunneus, Tapinanthus subulatus, Oliverella rubroviridis and Helixanthera kirkii.
Subspecies
edit- Iolaus alienus alienus (from KwaZulu-Natal and Transvaal to Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, southern Tanzania)
- Iolaus alienus bicaudatus Aurivillius, 1905 (northern Cameroon, northern Nigeria, Upper Volta)
- Iolaus alienus ugandae Stempffer, 1953 (Kenya, Uganda, southern Sudan)
- Iolaus alienus sophiae Henning & Henning, 1991
References
edit- ^ Iolaus at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
- ^ Woodhall, Steve (2005). Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN 978-1-86872-724-7.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Iolaus alienus.
Wikispecies has information related to Iolaus alienus.
- Images representing Iolaus alienus at Barcodes of Life
- Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 69 b and c as bicaudatus Aurivillius, 1905 (synonym).
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