Metisella syrinx

Metisella syrinx, the bamboo sylph, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. 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]

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

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 at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
  2. "Afrotropical Butterflies: Hesperiidae - Subfamily Heteropterinae". Archived from the original on 2014-08-19. Retrieved 2012-11-08.
  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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