Spialia colotes

Bushveld sandman
Spialia colotes figure 11
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Hesperiidae
Genus: Spialia
Species: S. colotes
Binomial name
Spialia colotes
(Druce, 1875)[1]
Synonyms
  • Pyrgus colotes Druce, 1875
  • Pyrgus transvaaliae Trimen, 1889
  • Pyrgus nora Plötz, 1884

Spialia colotes, the Bushveld sandman, is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family. It is found in Angola, Botswana and from South Africa to Ethiopia and south-western Arabia.

These skippers are dark brown with white spots on both sides of the wings.[2]

The wingspan is from 21–28 mm.[2]

The flight period is from December to May, with a single brood.[2]

The larvae feed on Hibiscus fuscus.

Subspecies

  • Spialia colotes colotes (Angola)
  • Spialia colotes semiconfluens de Jong, 1978 (Ethiopia, Somalia, eastern Kenya, north-eastern Uganda, south-western Arabia)
  • Spialia colotes transvaaliae (Trimen, 1889) - Transvaal grizzled skipper (South West Africa, Botswana, Transvaal, from Zimbabwe to Kenya)

References

  1. ↑ Spialia 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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