Aloeides taikosama

Aloeides taikosama
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Lycaenidae
Genus:	Aloeides
Species:	A. taikosama
Binomial name
Aloeides taikosama (Wallengren, 1857)[1]
Synonyms
Cygaritis taikosama Wallengren, 1857

The Dusky Copper (Aloeides taikosama) is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found in South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. In South Africa it is found from the eastern West Cape to the East Cape, the Orange Free State, northern KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, the Limpopo Province, the North West Province and the eastern North Cape.

The wingspan is 22-27 mm for males and 27-33 mm for females. Adults are on wing from August to April, with peaks in November and March. There are multiple generations per year.^[2]

References

1. ^ Aloeides, Site of Markku Savela
2. ^ Woodhall, S. Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa, Cape Town: Struik Publishers, 2005.