Metisella metis

Gold spotted sylph
Female, Cape Town
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Clade:Euarthropoda
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 family Hesperiidae. 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

  • Metisella metis metis (South Africa: Western Cape Province, from the Cape Peninsula, east to the Swellendam district)
  • Metisella metis paris Evans, 1937 (Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, South Africa: Limpopo Province, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape Province, Western Cape Province)

References

  1. ↑ Metisella at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
  2. 1 2 3 Woodhall, Steve (2005). Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN 978-1-86872-724-7.


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