Leptotes brevidentatus
Encyclopedia
The Short-toothed Blue or Tite's Zebra Blue (Leptotes brevidentatus) is a butterfly
of the Lycaenidae
family. It is found in Africa
south of the Sahara
and south-western Arabia.
The wingspan
is 22-29 mm for males and 26-30 mm for females. Adults are on wing year round in warmer areas and from October to March in cooler areas.
The larvae feed on flowers and immature seeds of Plumbago auriculata
and probably also Indigofera
, Rhynchosia
, Vigna
, Burkea
, Mundulea
, Melilotus, Crataegus
and Medicago sativa.
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 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...
south of the Sahara
Sahara
The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...
and south-western Arabia.
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 22-29 mm for males and 26-30 mm for females. Adults are on wing year round in warmer areas and from October to March in cooler areas.
The larvae feed on flowers and immature seeds of Plumbago auriculata
Plumbago auriculata
Plumbago auriculata, also called Plumbago capensis, Blue plumbago, Cape plumbago or Cape leadwort, is a well known houseplant originally from South Africa....
and probably also Indigofera
Indigofera
Indigofera is a large genus of about 700 species of flowering plants belonging to the family Fabaceae.The species are mostly shrubs, though some are herbaceous, and a few can become small trees up to tall. Most are dry-season or winter deciduous. The leaves are pinnate with 5–31 leaflets and the...
, Rhynchosia
Rhynchosia
Rhynchosia is a genus of plants in the Fabaceae family.Species include:* Rhynchosia americana* Rhynchosia calosperma* Rhynchosia caribaea* Rhynchosia chapmanii* Rhynchosia chimanimaniensis...
, Vigna
Vigna
The genus Vigna is in the plant family Fabaceae. The genus is named after Domenico Vigna, an Italian botanist of the 17th century. They include some well-known and other less well-known beans formerly — and sometimes still, especially in non-scholarly sources — included in the genus Phaseolus...
, Burkea
Burkea
Burkea is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It belongs to the sub family Caesalpinioideae....
, Mundulea
Mundulea
Mundulea is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It belongs to the sub family Faboideae....
, Melilotus, Crataegus
Crataegus
Crataegus , commonly called hawthorn or thornapple, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the rose family, Rosaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in Europe, Asia and North America. The name hawthorn was originally applied to the species native to northern Europe,...
and Medicago sativa.