Assessor: Dave Edge
Sensitive in 2010
No
Family
Lycaenidae
Exploitation extent
None - this species and its close relatives are not exploited, collected, traded or utilized in a targeted manner.
Population vulnerability
Population is vulnerable: size is <= 2500 mature individuals OR the number of known subpopulations is <= 5 OR range is <= 100km2 OR species at risk of localised extinctions
Justification and references
A full conservation assessment of this taxon was done according to IUCN methodology and it was Red Listed as "Endangered". The results are published in:
MECENERO, S., BALL, J.B., EDGE, D.A., HAMER, M.L., HENNING, G.A., KRÜGER. M., PRINGLE, E.L., TERBLANCHE, R.F. & WILLIAMS, M.C. (eds) 2013. Conservation assessment of butterflies of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland: Red List and Atlas. Johannesburg & Cape Town: Saftronics (Pty.) Ltd. & Animal Demography Unit. 676 pp.
The red listing also appears on SANBI's Red List website:
http://speciesstatus.sanbi.org/assessment/last-assessment/904/
Targeted demographics
Mature (breeding) individuals are killed, significantly weakened or are permanently removed from the wild, OR immature individuals are targeted and this significantly impacts mature (breeding) individuals.
Regeneration potential
This species has a slow population growth rate, or the growth rate varies depending on habitat, and there is a poor chance the wild populations will recover from exploitation OR a collector might feasibly harvest the entire extant population removing the chance of subsequent recruitment.