Iolaus mimosae, the mimosa sapphire, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in southern Africa. The habitat consists of Karoo and savanna.
| Iolaus mimosae | |
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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. mimosae
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| Binomial name | |
| Iolaus mimosae | |
| Synonyms | |
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The wingspan is 26–31 mm for males and 30–32 mm for females. Adults are on wing from September to March with a peak from October to November. There are one or more generations per year.[2]
The larvae feed on Actinanthella wyliei, Agelanthus natalitius, Moquinella rubra, Oncocalyx fischeri, Plicosepalus curviflorus, Plicosepalus kalachariensis and Tapinanthus dichrous.[3]
Subspecies
edit- Iolaus mimosae mimosae (South Africa: Eastern Cape)
- Iolaus mimosae berbera (Bethune-Baker, 1924) (Somalia, Ethiopia)
- Iolaus mimosae haemus (Talbot, 1935) (north-western Kenya, eastern Uganda)
- Iolaus mimosae pamelae (Dickson, 1976) (northern Namibia)
- Iolaus mimosae rhodosense (Stempffer & Bennett, 1959) (eastern Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, southern Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, eastern Botswana, Swaziland, South Africa: Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal)
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Iolaus mimosae.
Wikispecies has information related to Iolaus mimosae.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Afrotropical Butterflies: Lycaenidae - Subtribe Iolaina". Archived from the original on 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
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