Chrysoritis beaufortius

Chrysoritis beaufortius, the Beaufort opal, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae found only in South Africa.

Beaufort opal
Male
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Lycaenidae
Genus:	Chrysoritis
Species:	C. beaufortius
Binomial name
Chrysoritis beaufortius (Dickson, 1966)[1]
Synonyms
Poecilmitis beaufortius Dickson, 1966 Poecilmitis stepheni Dickson, 1966 Poecilmitis kaplani Henning, 1979

The wingspan is 32–36 mm for males and 32–38 mm for females. The flight period is from August to February in one brood.[2]

Larvae feed on Dimorphotheca cuneata. They are associated with Crematogaster peringueyi ants.

Subspecies

• Chrysoritis beaufortius beaufortius – South Africa: Western Cape
• Chrysoritis beaufortius charlesi (Dickson, 1970) – South Africa: Northern Cape
• Chrysoritis beaufortius stepheni (Dickson, 1978) – South Africa: Northern Cape
• Chrysoritis beaufortius sutherlandensis Heath & Pringle, 2007 – South Africa: Northern Cape

• 
  Male and female
  C. b. beaufortius
• 
  Male and female
  C. (b.) stepheni

References

1. Chrysoritis at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
2. Woodhall, Steve (2005). Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN 978-1-86872-724-7.