Butterflies of
Africa
Lowland Branded Blue
Uranothauma falkensteini
DEWITZ, 1879
Family - LYCAENIDAE
subfamily -
POLYOMMATINAE
Tribe - POLYOMMATINI
Uranothauma falkensteini,
Wli Falls, Ghana / Togo border
Introduction
The genus
Uranothauma comprises of about 25 species. Most are distributed across
various parts of East Africa, and inhabit sub-montane forests.
In contrast with most
other members of the genus,
Uranothauma falkensteini
is
s a lowland species, and
is found across most of sub-Saharan Africa.
Habitats
This species is found in forested areas, particularly in secondary forest. It is
most abundant along logging roads and around the edges of clearings. The
butterfly can be found at altitudes between sea level and about 600m.
Lifecycle
The larval foodplants are
Acacia and Albizia (
Fabaceae ).
Adult behaviour
Males commonly come to the ground in
open sunny areas, where they imbibe mineralised
moisture from damp patches, usually amidst
small aggregations of Phlyaria cyara
and Leptotes pirithous.
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