Iolana alfierii Wiltshire 1948

Uncommon

Powerful fast flight along cliff faces and places near the host-plant;

Large size: 35-40 mm. The male is purple-blue edged with black; while the female is brown. The underside of the wings are pale brown, often with blue tinge at the base, with few spots.

Sinai. AOO = 46 km2. EOO = 19,150 km2. 3 locations. No evidence of decline.

Near-endemic (Sinai, Negev, Jordan)

 Benyamini (2002) suggests this butterfly only flies during Feb-April, but there is a specimen caught in September from Wadi El Arbaein (South Sinai) in the Cairo University collection.

Vulnerable (D2)

Lays eggs into calyx and larvae bore into inflated seedpods; multiannual pupal diapause enables survival of dry years (Benyamini 1999).

17 records. Latest in 1989 (South Sinai)

Resident

February-April and September

Vulnerable to overgrazing of the host-plant

Host-plant: Colutea istria (Leguminosae).