Kingdom Animalia Class Insecta Family Lycaenidae Scientific name Iolaus silas | Phylum Arthropoda Order Lepidoptera Genus Iolaus Rank Species | |
Similar Iolaus, Iolaus mimosae, Iolaus pallene | ||
Iolaus silas, the southern sapphire , is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found in South Africa, from the Name Karoo in the Eastern Cape, then along the eastern littoral from Addo Elephant to Somerset East and Bedford, along the coastal savannah and lowland forest into KwaZulu-Natal.
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 Moquinella rubra, Erianthemum dregei and Loranthus usuiensis.
References
Iolaus silas Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA