Axiocerses harpax

Description

Axiocerses harpax, the common scarlet, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Senegal, the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Mali, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia, Yemen, Oman, Kenya and Tanzania. The habitat consists of forests, woodland and savanna. The length of the forewings is 15.5-17.2 mm for males and 14.5-18.5 mm for females. The adults of both sexes are attracted to flowers. The larvae feed on Acacia drepanolobium and Acacia stenocarpa. They are associated with ants of the Crematogaster and Pheidole genera. They live under the bark of their host plant and are gregarious.