Myrina silenus

Common fig-tree blue
	Nominate subspecies, Nigeria
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
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.^[2]

Habitat and behavior

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

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

^ Myrina 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.

External links

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[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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