Africa Wild Insect Book: Butterflies (Lepidoptera)

[Klipspringer]

Dotted Blue, Dotted Pierrot Tarucus sybaris linearis
Family: Lycaenidae. Subfamily: Polyommatinae. Tribe: Polyommatini



Mokala National Park © Michele Nel

Description
Wingspan: ♂ 23 mm ♀ 24 mm.
Male upperside purple-blue with a brown spot in the forewing and reduced brown wing edges; female largely brown with pale markings.
(Differs from the nominate subspecies in the reduced dark marginal bands on the upperside of the wings.)

Distribution
Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo , Botswana, Namibia, South Africa (North West Province, Free State Province, Northern Cape Province).

Links:
http://www.metamorphosis.org.za/article ... 0Moore.pdf

Dotted Pierrot.jpg (46.19 KiB) Viewed 2170 times

[Klipspringer]

African Grass Blue, Sooty Blue Zizeeria knysna knysna
Family Lycaenidae. Subfamily Polyommatinae. Tribe Polyommatini





Nelspruit © Richprins


Nelspruit © Richprins

© Blu'Tuna
Garden in Johannesburg

Darling, Western Cape © arks


Description
Wingspan: ♂ 18-23 mm ♀ 21-26 mm.
The female has a sooty hue on the upperside. The male has an iridescent blue while the female has a blue base with a coppery outer edge. The pale brown underside of the upper wing has a spot on the forewing cell, distinguishing it from the Clover Blue without this spot.

Most common small Blue. Flight low, quite fast, circling and erratic. Both sexes avidly visit small flowers near ground-level. Males often come to damp patches.

Distribution
Zambia (widespread), Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa (Limpopo Province, Mpumalanga, North West Province, Gauteng, Free State Province, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape Province, Western Cape Province, Northern Cape Province), eSwatini, Lesotho.

Habitat
The species is very widespread and fairly common in most parts of South Africa’s grasslands and bushveld areas.

Biology
Flight period: Year-round, peaks Oct–Dec and Feb–Apr.
They take a variety of foodplants.

[Klipspringer]

Topaz Arab, Topaz Tip Colotis calais calais
Family: Pieridae. Subfamily: Pierinae. Tribe: Pierini

© Pumbaa
A rare butterfly, but locally common around Shingwedzi after good rains.

© Pumbaa
Kruger National Park, S52

Description
Wingspan: ♂ 30 mm ♀ 35 mm
The male has an orange upperside while the female has an orange base and yellow margins. The undersides are yellow.

Distribution
Sub-Saharan Africa, including Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa (Limpopo Province, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal – north), eSwatini.

Habitat
Savanna and wooded areas. It prefers dry areas, venturing far from waterways.

Biology
Flight period: throuout the year, abundant from February to May.
Foodplant: Salvadora australis, Salvadora persica, Capparis spp.

Links:
http://www.metamorphosis.org.za/article ... educed.pdf

[Klipspringer]

Layman Amauris albimaculata albimaculata
Family: Nymphalidae. Subfamily Danainae

© Richprins
Female. Nelspruit

Description
Wingspan: ♂ 50–60 mm ♀ 62–68 mm.
The male is South Africa’s smallest danaid (members of the subfamily Danainae). Upperside black with white forewing spots. Underside similar to the upperside, dark areas lighter in colour. As the specific name implies, the forewing spots are always pure white; those in Amauris echeria often have an ochreous tinge. In addition the palps, below, have a white stripe in A. albimaculata and a white spot in A. echeria.
Mimics include the female Mocker Swallowtail, both sexes of the Variable Diadem and the False Chief.
The flight is slow and lazy, unless it is disturbed. It normally flies high up but comes down to feed from flowers. Males mud-puddle and are also attracted to animal dung. Males often select perches to which they return following short flights.

Distribution
South Africa, eSwatini, southern Mozambique. In South Africa confined to the east coastal belt and the lowveld.

Habitat
Forest, gardens.

Biology
Flight period: All year, with peak in summer/autumn.
Larval host plants: Tylophora, Cynanchum and Secamone

Links:
https://www.metamorphosis.org.za/articl ... uebner.pdf

[Klipspringer]

Scarlet Tip Colotis annae annae (formerly: Colotis danae annae)
Family: Pieridae. Subfamily: Pierinae. Tribe: Pierini

Scarlet Tip.jpg (274.16 KiB) Viewed 2092 times

Dry season form, male, Marloth Park, Mpumalanga, July 2020 © Richprins

Description
Wingspan: 35–55 mm. Variation in size of seasonal forms. Sexually and sesonally dimorphic.
In all males the upperside forewing tips are broad brilliant red. Underside of both sexes, all forms, has a dical row of brown-centered black spots on both wings.
Male wet season form: Upperside has broad black hinwing margins and basal edge to red forewing tip.
Female wet season form: Upperside ground colour white with very heavy black basal patches, discal spotting and marginal borders, sometimes appearing marbled. Forewing apical tip either a red patch crossed with black spots, or black with a series of pale salmon-pink or buff spots.
The dry season form has much less darker markings in both sexes. The male has lost the darker edge. In the female's winter form the darker markings are lighter and less heavily pronounced. The underside markings are pale dusted colour (assisting with camouflage).
Slow wandering flight close to the ground. Fond of flowers. Usually stays near foodplants.

Distribution
Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa (Limpopo Province, Mpumalanga, North West Province, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal,
Eastern Cape Province), Eswatini.

Habitat
Open to wooded savanna. Hillsides, flatlands, forest edges.

Biology
Flight period: All year; most abundant in late summer and autumn (nominate ssp.). There are distinct seasonal forms of the nominate subspecies. Wet season form: October to March. Dry season form: Ferbruary to November.
Larval foodplants: Cadaba natalensis, Cadaba species, Cadaba termitaria, Capparis species, Maerua angolensis, Maerua rosmarinoides.

Links:
http://www.metamorphosis.org.za/article ... educed.pdf

[Klipspringer]

Common Mother-of-pearl Protogoniomorpha parhassus
Family: Nymphalidae. Subfamily: Nymphalinae. Tribe: Junoiini

Nelspruit, © Richprins


© Mrs Dwarf
Nelspruit, male dry season form


Description
Wingspan: ♂ 65–80mm ♀ 75–90mm. White to pale green, with greenish to gold iridescent sheen, black-edged wings. Black spots and black-centred red ocelli on both surfaces. Sexes similar. Seasonal forms differ considerably. Wet season form modestus smaller, more heavily marked than dry season form parhassus.
Often seen on flowers.

Distribution
Sub-Saharan Africa, incl. SA. Coastal and lowland forest from E Cape (Mbashe R) along KwaZulu-Natal coast to Kosi Bay. Also in Afromontane forests escarpment (especially deep, wooded kloofs) to eSwatini, Mpumalanga and Limpopo.

Habitat
Forest edges, gullies, coast.

Biology
Flight period is year-round, peaking in summer and autumn.
Foodplants: Asystasia gangetica, Isoglossa woodii and Phaulopsis imbricata.

Links:
http://www.metamorphosis.org.za/article ... engren.pdf

[Klipspringer]

Tailed Black-eye Leptomyrina hirundo
Family: Lycaenidae. Subfamily: Theclinae. Tribe: Hypolycaenini


Marloth Park, July 2020 © Richprins

Description
Wingspan: ♂ 19–24mm ♀ 19.5–26mm. The striking feature of this butterfly is the large eyespot on the wings that is visible when the butterfly is at rest. There is a long tail on each hind wing. Males are darker than females, with brownish upper sides and pale whitish undersides with faint stripes. Male with blue base. Female with grey-brown upperside.

Distribution
Kenya (east to north-west), Tanzania (east), Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa (Limpopo Province, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape Province), eSwatini, Lesotho.

Habitat
Savanna, forest, coastal dunes, parks and gardens.
Flutters slowly close to the ground, often settling on low leaves.

Biology
Flight period: All year in warmer areas, peaks Nov and Mar.
Larval foodplants: Kalanchoe, Crassula and Cotyledon spp.

Links:
https://www.metamorphosis.org.za/articl ... Butler.pdf

Leptomyrina hirundo.jpg (55.11 KiB) Viewed 2022 times

[Klipspringer]

Damara Russet Aloeides damarensis mashona
Family: Lycaenidae. Subfamily: Aphnaeinae

Aloeides damarensis mashona Marloth.jpg (145.56 KiB) Viewed 1906 times

September 2020, Marloth Park, Mpumalanga © Richprins


Description
Wingspan: ♂ 25–32 mm ♀ 28-36 mm.
Compared to the male of the nominate subspecies, the dusky brown areas of the upperside are much more extensive. There is a darkened area at the base of the forewing, and in the hindwing the dark area extends from the base over roughly the inner half of the wing, with the remaining tawny orange of the distal half is very clear and the two portions forming a distinct angle where they meet. In the female there is some darkening at the base of the forewing but the distal band is usually broken up into more or less wedge-shaped spots along most of its length; the wing is mainly tawny orange.
A low flyer making frequent stops on the ground between flowers.

Distribution
Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, South Africa (Limpopo Province, Mpumalanga, North West Province, Gauteng, Free State Provice – except south-west, KwaZulu-Natal – north), eSwatini.

Biology
Foodplants: Aspalathus species.
Flight Period: From September to April in the southern part of the range and year round in the north.

Links:
Metamorphosis

[Klipspringer]

False Dotted Border Belenois thysa thysa
Family Pieridae. Subfamily Pierinae. Tribe Pierini

© Dewi
Female, dry season from, Kosi Forest Lodge, KwaZulu-Natal

Description
Wingspan: ♂ 45–60 mm ♀ 48–62 mm. Sexually and seasonally dimorphic.
Female: upperside patterns vary according to seasonal form and have varying amounts of colour and dark shading.
Male: always white on upperside with dark marginal and submarginal marks varying in extent according to seasonal form.
Hind wing underside is always bright canary-yellow.
Similar species: Mylothris agathina, but B. thysa is distinguished by row of black hind wing marginal dots; in M. agathina these are confined to the margin. B. thysa thysa has an extra row of submarginal black dots.

Distribution
From Eastern Cape (Port St Johns) into KwaZulu-Natal, eSwatini and Mozambique.

Habitat
Flatlands and coast. Edges of coastal lowland and riverine forest.

Biology
Flight period: Year-round in warmer areas. Wet season form Oct–Mar (peak Dec–Jan). Dry season form Apr–Sept (peak Apr–May).
Larval foodplants: Boscia spp., Capparis spp., Maerua cafra and M. racemulosa.

Links:
https://www.metamorphosis.org.za/articl ... uebner.pdf

[Klipspringer]

Malagasy Grass Yellow Eurema floricola floricola
Family Pieridae. Subfamily Coliadinae

© nan
Kruger National Park


Nelspruit © Richprins

Description
Wingspan: 32–35 mm.
Black forewing upperside marginal band scalloped, the hindwing never has a solid black margin. Underside hind wing cell spot strongly widened towards the apical end.

Distribution
Madagascar, Tanzania (east), Mozambique, South Africa (Limpopo, Mpumalanga, KZN), eSwatini.

Habitat
Flatlands, forest edges, coast.

Biology
Flight period: Year round, peaks in late summer.

Links:
https://www.metamorphosis.org.za/articl ... [1821].pdf