Chrysoritis pyramus

Pyramus opal
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Lycaenidae
Genus:	Chrysoritis
Species:	C. pyramus
Binomial name
Chrysoritis pyramus (Pennington, 1953)
Synonyms
Poecilmitis pyramus Pennington, 1953 Poecilmitis balli Dickson & Henning, 1981

Chrysoritis pyramus, the Pyramus opal, is a species of butterfly in the Lycaenidae family. It is endemic to South Africa, where it is found on the northern slopes of the Swartberg, the Kammanassie Mountains and the Langeberg in the Western Cape.

The wingspan is 32–36 mm for males and 32–38 mm for females. Adults are on wing from October to January, with a peak in November. There is one extended generation per year.^[1]

The larvae feed on Thesium, Osteospermum asperulum and Dimorphotheca montana. They are attended to by Crematogaster peringueyi ants.

Subspecies

• Chrysoritis pyramus pyramus (South Africa: Western Cape)
• Chrysoritis pyramus balli (Dickson & Henning, 1981) (South Africa: Western Cape)

References

1. Woodhall, S. Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa, Cape Town: Struik Publishers, 2005.

• Gimenez Dixon, M. 1996. Poecilmitis pyramus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 31 July 2007.