Metisella syrinx

Bamboo sylph
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Hesperiidae
Genus: Metisella
Species: M. syrinx
Binomial name
Metisella syrinx
(Trimen, 1868)[1]
Synonyms
  • Cyclopides syrinx Trimen, 1868

Metisella syrinx, the bamboo sylph, is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family. It is a rare and highly localised species which is only known from South Africa in the eastern Cape, through southern Lesotho to the extreme south of KwaZulu-Natal. The habitat consists of rocky areas on the summits of mountains, in montane grassland.[2]

The wingspan is 32–34 mm for males and 32–37 mm for females. Adults are on wing from January to February. There is one generation per year.[3]

The larvae feed on Thamnocalamus tessellatus.

References

  1. Metisella, Site of Markku Savela
  2. Afrotropical Butterflies: Hesperiidae - Subfamily Heteropterinae
  3. Woodhall, S. Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa, Cape Town: Struik Publishers, 2005.
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