Spialia dromus

Spialia dromus, the forest sandman, dromus grizzled skipper or large grizzled skipper, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found in tropical Africa. In South Africa it is found along the eastern Cape coast to KwaZulu-Natal into Swaziland. It is also present in Mpumalanga and the Limpopo Province into northern Gauteng and the extreme north-west of the North West Province.

Spialia dromus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Hesperiidae
Genus:	Spialia
Species:	S. dromus
Binomial name
Spialia dromus (Plötz, 1884)[1]
Synonyms
Pyrgus dromus Plötz, 1884 Pyrgus zaira Plötz, 1884 Syrichthus melaleuca Oberthür, 1912 Syrichthus leucomelas Oberthür, 1912 Hesperia dromus var. elongata Higgins, 1924 Hesperia dromus var. meridionalis Higgins, 1924

The wingspan is 23–29 mm for males and 29–32 mm for females. Adults are on wing year-round but are more common in warmer months.[2]

The larvae feed on Triumfetta tomentosa, Triumfetta rhomboidea, Melhania and Waltheria species.

References

1. Spialia 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.