''Stugeta bowkeri'', the Bowker's sapphire, Bowker's marbled sapphire or Bowker's tailed blue, 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 most of 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 26–32 mm for males and 29–41 mm for females. Adults are on wing from September to May, with peaks in October and March. Larvae of subspecies ''bowkeri'' and ''henningi'' feed on ''

Viscum rotundifolium ''Viscum rotundifolium'', the red-berry mistletoe, is a variable, wide-ranging and monoecious mistletoe Mistletoe is the common name for obligate parasite, obligate parasitic plant, hemiparasitic plants in the Order (biology), order Santala ...

''. Larvae of subspecies ''tearei'' have been recorded on ''

Ximenia afra ''Ximenia afra'', the sourplum, is a small tree or small shrub that is thinly branched. It is part of the Olacaceae family which is native throughout tropical regions. In particular, the sourplum is native to regions in South East Africa, mainly ...

'' and '' X. americana'', ''

'' and '' Tapinanthus quinquangulus''. Other recorded food plants include ''

Loranthus ''Loranthus'' is a genus of parasitic plants that grow on the branches of woody trees. It belongs to the family Loranthaceae, the showy mistletoe family. In most earlier systematic treatments it contains all mistletoe species with bisexual flower ...

'' species (including '' L. elegans'' and '' L. oleaefolius'') and other ''

Tapinanthus Haustorium and fruit of ''Tapinanthus oleifolius'' file:Amethyst sunbird, Chalcomitra amethystina, female at Kloofendal Nature Reserve, Johannesburg, South Africa (21354148246).jpg"> Tapinanthus_rubromarginatus.html" ;"title="Ornithophily in '' ...

'' and ''

Ximenia ''Ximenia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Olacaceae. The generic name honors Francisco Ximénez, a Spanish priest.Genaust, Helmut (1976). ''Etymologisches Wörterbuch der botanischen Pflanzennamen'' Selected species * '' Ximen ...

'' species.

Subspecies

*''S. b. bowkeri'' – Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Transvaal, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia *''S. b. albeza'' (Koçak, 1996) – Somalia *''S. b. caerulea'' Stempffer – Somalia (Galkayu) *''S. b. ethiopica'' Stempffer & Bennett, 1958 – Ethiopia *''S. b. henningi'' Dickson, 1980 – arid savannah of Free State, North West and Northern Cape provinces in South Africa *''S. b. kedonga'' van Someren, 1939 – the Great Rift Valley in Kenya *''S. b. maria'' Suffert, 1904 – Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo: south-east to Lualaba and Shaba, Tanzania, northern Zambia *''S. b. mombasae'' Butler, 1901 – coast of eastern Kenya and north-eastern Tanzania *''S. b. nyanzana'' Wichgraf, 1911 – Lake Victoria, western Kenya *''S. b. nyasana'' Talbot, 1935 – Malawi, south-eastern Tanzania *''S. b. tearei'' Dickson, 1980 – southern Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, northern Namibia, Eswatini, South Africa: Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces

Etymology

The name honours the lepidopterist

James Henry Bowker Colonel James Henry Bowker (23 August 1825 – 27 October 1900), was a Cape Colony naturalist, archaeologist and soldier. He was co-author with Roland Trimen of ''South African Butterflies'' (1887–89; 3 vols.). Early life Bowker was the n ...

References

External links

''Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde'' 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 67
''c'' (transitional) Butterflies described in 1864 Iolaini Butterflies of Africa Taxa named by Roland Trimen {{Theclinae-stub