Metisella metis

Gold spotted sylph
Female, Cape Town
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Hesperiidae
Genus: Metisella
Species: M. metis
Binomial name
Metisella metis
(Linnaeus, 1764)[1]
Synonyms
  • Papilio metis Linnaeus, 1764
  • Hesperia metis
  • Cyclopides metis
  • Heteropterus metis

Metisella metis, the gold spotted sylph, is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family. It is found in the Cape and KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa.

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

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Metisella metis.
  1. Metisella, Site of Markku Savela
  2. 1 2 3 Woodhall, S. Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town:Struik Publishers, 2005.


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