Metisella metis
Metisella metis, the gold spotted sylph, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found in the Cape and KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa.
Gold spotted sylph | |
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Female, Cape Town | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Family: | Hesperiidae |
Genus: | Metisella |
Species: | M. metis |
Binomial name | |
Metisella metis | |
Synonyms | |
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The wingspan is 26–34 mm for males and 30–33 mm for females.[2] The upperside of the wings are dark brown or black with a number of gold spots.[2] The flight period is year-round, peaking between September and November and between February and March.[2]
The larvae feed on Stenotaphrum glabrum, Panicum deustum, Ehrharta erecta and Stipa dregeana.
Subspecies
- Metisella metis metis (South Africa: Western Cape Province, from the Cape Peninsula, east to the Swellendam district)
- Metisella metis paris Evans, 1937 (Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, South Africa: Limpopo Province, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape Province, Western Cape Province)
gollark: Yes, I am indeed piki.
gollark: I do need ender pearls, though, for other stuff.
gollark: Especially since without it my reactor would meltdown, not that it matters much because my stuff runs on fusion now.
gollark: Years is not enough!
gollark: 0.5? Can't really use the OC method then.
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Metisella metis. |
- Metisella at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
- Woodhall, Steve (2005). Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN 978-1-86872-724-7.
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