<
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/discovery-of-dazzling-blue-butterfly-underscores-peril-facing-angolas-forests/>
"Francis’s gorgeous sapphire — a new-to-science species of butterfly — has just
been described in the high-altitude evergreen forests of western Angola. The
identification of
Iolaus francisi, with its shimmering blue upper wings
bordered with black, and silvery underwings patterned with orange and brown
lines highlights once more the rich biodiversity of the country’s most
threatened habitat.
Ecologist Alan Gardiner recalls the exciting moment he and Zimbabwean
lepidopterists (butterfly experts) Jonathan Francis and Shabani Ndarama first
saw a male sapphire shining in a forest patch during an expedition to the Namba
Mountains in Cuanza Sul province in May 2023.
“It’s always special when you see something like that,” says Gardiner, head of
applied research at the South African Wildlife College. “It’s so much more
vivid than you can get in a picture.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
