Tomares mauretanicus

Tomares mauretanicus, the Moroccan hairstreak, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae.

Tomares mauretanicus
Living specimen
Male (top) and female
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Lycaenidae
Genus:	Tomares
Species:	T. mauretanicus
Binomial name
Tomares mauretanicus (H. Lucas, 1849)
Synonyms
Polyommatus mauretanicus H. Lucas, 1849 Polyommatus mauretanicus var. undulatus Gerhard, 1853 Thestor mauretanicus ab. sabulosus Oberthür, 1910 Thestor mauretanicus var. boisduvali Oberthür, 1910 Thestor mauretanicus ab. tristis Oberthür, 1915 Thestor mauretanicus f. subtus-reductus Zopp, 1954 Thestor mauretanicus f. subtus-confluens Zopp, 1954 Thestor mauretanicus f. maroccanus Zopp, 1954 Tomares mauretanicus antonius Brevignon, 1985

Description

The wingspan is 28–30 mm.

Habitat

Grassy places from sea level to 2400 m

Distribution

It is found only in northern Africa.

Life cycle and behaviour

The butterfly flies from January to March. In the High Atlas it flies into June.

The larvae feed on Hippocrepis multisiliquosa, Hippocrepis minor, Hedysarum pallidum, Astragalus epiglottis and Astragalus pentaglottis. The eggs are laid in clusters on the leaves of the host plant. The species flies on hot, dry hillsides and it has been known to 'hilltop'.

Subspecies

• Tomares mauretanicus mauretanicus (Algeria)
• Tomares mauretanicus antonius (Brévignon, 1984) (Middle Atlas in Morocco)
• Tomares mauretanicus amelnorum (Tarrier, 1997) (Anti-Atlas in Morocco)

Further reading

• Higgins, L. G. and N. D. Riley (1971). Europas dagsommerfugle. Gads Forlag.
• Tennent, John (1996). The Butterflies of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. Gem Publishing Company.
• Tolman, Tom (1997). Europas sommerfugle. Gads Forlag.