Chrysoritis orientalis

Chrysoritis orientalis, the eastern opal, is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is endemic to South Africa, where it is found on the southern Drakensberg in KwaZulu-Natal.

Chrysoritis orientalis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Lycaenidae
Genus: Chrysoritis
Species:
C. orientalis
Binomial name
Chrysoritis orientalis
(Swanepoel, 1976)
Synonyms
  • Poecilmitis orientalis Swanepoel, 1976

The wingspan is 18–22 mm for males and 20–24 mm for females. Adults are on wing from October to January, with a peak in December. There is one generation per year.[1]

The larvae feed on Thesium species. They are attended to by Crematogaster liengmei ants.

References

  1. Woodhall, Steve (2005). Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN 978-1-86872-724-7.
  • Gimenez Dixon, M. 1996. Poecilmitis orientalis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 31 July 2007.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.