Myrina silenus

Common fig-tree blue
Nominate subspecies, Nigeria
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Lycaenidae
Genus: Myrina
Species:
M. silenus
Binomial name
Myrina silenus
(Fabricius, 1775)
Synonyms
  • Papilio silenus Fabricius, 1775
  • Papilio alcides Cramer, [1776]
  • Myrina ficedula Trimen, 1879
  • Papilio corax Stoll, 1781
  • Myrina silenus deserticola Stempffer, 1969
  • Myrina silenus f. nzoiae Stoneham, 1937

Myrina silenus, the common fig-tree blue, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Sub-Saharan Africa, southern Arabia and northern Oman.

Description

The wingspan is 26.5–34 mm for males and 33–41 mm for females. Adults are on wing year-round with peaks from September to October and from April to June in the eastern part of the range.

Habitat and behavior

The larvae feed on Ficus species, including F. capensis, F. cordata, F. sur, F. pumila and F. ingens.

M. s. ficedula

Subspecies

  • M. s. silenus
Range: Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Congo, Angola, DRC, Chad, Sudan, Uganda, north-western Zambia
  • M. s. nzoiae d'Abrera, 1980
Range: Ethiopia, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, northern Oman, western and northern Kenya
  • M. s. ficedula (Trimen, 1879)
Range: southern Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia: Caprivi, Eswatini, South Africa: Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West, Gauteng, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and Western Cape provinces
  • M. s. penningtoni Dickson & Stephen, 1971
Range: western South Africa: Western Cape to Northern Cape
  • M. s. suzannae Larsen & Plowes, 1991
Range: northern Namibia

References

  1. ^ Myrina at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
  2. ^ Woodhall, Steve (2005). Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN 978-1-86872-724-7.
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