Lipaphnaeus aderna explained

Lipaphnaeus aderna, the bramble false hairstreak or blue silver speckle, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.^[1] The habitat consists of forests and dense savanna.

Both sexes have been recorded on flowering shrubs in sunny glades. Adult males mud puddle. Adults are probably on wing year-round, with peaks from August to October and again from March to May.

The larvae feed on Maesa lanceolata. They are associated with ants of the genus Crematogaster.

Subspecies

• Lipaphnaeus aderna aderna (Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon)
• Lipaphnaeus aderna pan (Talbot, 1935) (Uganda, western Kenya, north-western Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo: Ituri and Kivu)
• Lipaphnaeus aderna spindasoides (Aurivillius, 1916) (south-eastern Kenya, Malawi, western Mozambique, eastern Zimbabwe, Tanzania: north-east to the Usambara Mountains)

External links

• Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 70 a

Notes and References

1. Web site: Afrotropical Butterflies: Lycaenidae - Subtribe Deudoricina . 2012-06-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150620000549/http://atbutterflies.com/downloads/lycaenidae_deudoricina.doc . 2015-06-20 . dead .