Chrysoritis felthami

Feltham's opal
Set of C. f. dukei
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Lycaenidae
Genus: Chrysoritis
Species:
C. felthami
Binomial name
Chrysoritis felthami
(Trimen, 1904)[1]
Synonyms
  • Zeritis felthami Trimen, 1904
  • Poecilmitis felthami
  • Poecilmitis felthami dukei Dickson, 1967

Chrysoritis felthami, the Feltham's opal, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in South Africa. It was originally described by Roland Trimen under the name Zeritis felthami.[2] This species was named in honour of Henry Louis Langley Feltham.[2]

The wingspan is 22โ€“27 mm for males and 23โ€“33 mm for females. Adults are on wing from August to April with peaks in October and February. There are several generations per year.[3]

The larvae feed on Zygophyllum flexuosum and Zygophyllum sessilifolium. They are attended to by Crematogaster peringueyi ants.

Subspecies

  • Chrysoritis felthami felthami (coastal fynbos in Western Cape)
  • Chrysoritis felthami dukei (Dickson, 1967) (Steinkopf area in Northern Cape to Western Cape)

References

  1. ^ Chrysoritis at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
  2. ^ a b Trimen, Roland (1904-06-15). "On some new or imperfectly-known forms of South-African Butterflies". Transactions of the Entomological Society of London. 1904 (2): 231โ€“248. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2311.1904.tb02745.x – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  3. ^ Woodhall, Steve (2005). Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN 978-1-86872-724-7.