Anthene lemnos
Encyclopedia
The Large Ciliate Blue or Large Hairtail (Anthene lemnos) is a butterfly
of the Lycaenidae
family. It is found in southern Africa
.
The wingspan
is 27-30 mm for males and 27-31 mm for females. Adults are on wing year round, with peaks in summer and autumn.
The larvae feed on Erythrococco berberidea and Erythrococco polyandra.
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
of the Lycaenidae
Lycaenidae
The Lycaenidae are the second-largest family of butterflies, with about 6000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies...
family. It is found in southern Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.
The wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
is 27-30 mm for males and 27-31 mm for females. Adults are on wing year round, with peaks in summer and autumn.
The larvae feed on Erythrococco berberidea and Erythrococco polyandra.
Subspecies
- Anthene lemnos lemnos (KwaZulu-Natal to Mozambique and Zimbabwe, Malawi)
- Anthene lemnos loa (Strand, 1911) (north-eastern Tanzania and the coast of eastern Kenya)