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Objavljeni brojevi Issue number: Natura Croatica, Vol. 33 No.1

Photographic survey of butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea) in southern Algeria with the first record of the sky-blue Cupid, Chilades eleusis (Demaison, 1888) for the country

Authors: Belkacem Aimene Boulaouad, Bachir Harzallah, Mohamed Missoum, Khaled Ayyach, Rudi Verovnik

Authors and affiliation

  • Belkacem Aimene Boulaouad Department of Agronomy, SNV-TU Faculty, Mohamed El Bachir El Ibrahimi University, 34030, El Anasser – Bordj Bou Arreridj, Algeria
  • Bachir Harzallah Algerian Wildlife Watchers Association, Algiers, Algeria
  • Mohamed Missoum Algerian Wildlife Watchers Association, Algiers, Algeria
  • Khaled Ayyach Algerian Wildlife Watchers Association, Algiers, Algeria
  • Rudi Verovnik University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical Faculty, Department of Biology, Jamnikarjeva 101, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

Abstract

During field surveys in recent years in the southernmost part of Algeria in Tamanrasset Province, a photographic account of the butterfly fauna was made. Fifteen species were recorded at four locations. Among these, the sky-blue Cupid, Chilades eleusis was recorded for the first time from the country and the north-western part of Africa. The species utilizes small acacia trees (Vachellia spp.) as larval host plants and is possibly resident in the studied region. This record extends its known range from subSaharan Africa, and apart from its presence along the Nile River in Egypt, represents the only known occurrence of the species in the Sahara realm. More targeted surveys of butterflies in the studied region would be highly recommended.

Keywords

butterfly records, Tamanrasset province, Adrar des Ifoghas, Afrotropical region, chec- klist, photography

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