''Anthene definita'', the common ciliate blue or common hairtail, is a

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

of the family

Lycaenidae Lycaenidae is the second-largest family (biology), family of butterflies (behind Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflies), with over 6,000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies. They constitute about 30% of ...

. It is found in southern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

is 21–27 mm for males and 24–29 mm for females. Adults are on wing year-round in warmer areas, with a peak in summer. The larvae feed on '' Allophylus africanus'', ''

Pappea capensis ''Pappea capensis'' is a South African tree in the family Sapindaceae. It is the only species in the genus ''Pappea''. Common names Common names include jacket plum, indaba tree and bushveld cherry. In other languages, it is known as: ' (Afrik ...

'', ''

Mangifera indica ''Mangifera indica'', commonly known as mango, is an evergreen species of flowering plant in the family Anacardiaceae. It is a large fruit tree, capable of growing to a height and width of . There are two distinct genetic populations in modern m ...

'', '' Myrica aethiopica'', '' Myrica sericea'', ''

Acacia karroo ''Vachellia karroo'', (synonym ''Acacia karroo'') commonly known as the sweet thorn, common acacia, Karoo thorn, Cape gum or cockspur thorn, is a species of ''Vachellia'', in the Mimosa sub-family (Mimosoideae) of the Fabaceae or pea family, whi ...

'', '' Acacia cyanophylla'', ''

Acacia saligna ''Acacia saligna'', commonly known by various names including coojong, golden wreath wattle, willow wattle, orange wattle, blue-leafed wattle, Western Australian golden wattle, and, in Africa, Port Jackson willow, is a small tree in the family ...

'', '' Paraserianthus lophanta'', '' Schotia'', ''

Bersama ''Bersama'' is a genus of small trees in family Francoaceae. The genus is restricted to sub-Saharan Africa, but is distributed over much of the continent. Species Plants of the World Online recognize the following as accepted species within the ...

'' and ''

Kalanchoe ''Kalanchoe'' ( ), (also called "kalanchöe" or "kalanchoë"), is a genus of about 125 species of tropical, succulent plants in the stonecrop family Crassulaceae, mainly native to Madagascar and tropical Africa. A ''Kalanchoe'' species was one ...

'' species. The larvae are associated with ants of the genus '' Iridomyrmyx''.

Subspecies

*''Anthene definita definita'' (Guinea (Nimbas), Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo: Ituri, North Kivu, Lualaba and Shaba, Uganda, central and western Kenya, to northern Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Eswatini, South Africa: Limpopo Province, Mpumalanga, North West Province, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape Province and Western Cape Province) *''Anthene definita nigrocaudata'' (Pagenstecher, 1902) (Ethiopia)

References

Butterflies described in 1899 definita Butterflies of Africa Taxa named by Arthur Gardiner Butler {{Lycaenesthini-stub