Artitropa erinnys
Encyclopedia
The Bush Night-fighter (Artitropa erinnys) is a butterfly
of the Hesperiidae family. It is found from the East Cape to KwaZulu-Natal
, Transvaal
, Zimbabwe
and eastern Africa
.
The wingspan
is 53–57 mm for males and 59–63 mm for females. Adults are on wing year round but are scarce from May to August.
The larvae feed on Dracaena hookeriana, Dracaena afromontana, Dracaena angustifolia, Dracaena fragrans
and Dracaena steudneri.
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
of the Hesperiidae family. It is found from the East Cape to KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the homeland of KwaZulu....
, Transvaal
Transvaal Province
Transvaal Province was a province of the Union of South Africa from 1910 to 1961, and of its successor, the Republic of South Africa, from 1961 until the end of apartheid in 1994 when a new constitution subdivided it.-History:...
, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
and eastern Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.
The wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
is 53–57 mm for males and 59–63 mm for females. Adults are on wing year round but are scarce from May to August.
The larvae feed on Dracaena hookeriana, Dracaena afromontana, Dracaena angustifolia, Dracaena fragrans
Dracaena fragrans
Dracaena fragrans is a flowering plant species that is native throughout tropical Africa, from Sudan south to Mozambique, west to Côte d'Ivoire and southwest to Angola, growing in upland regions at altitude.-Description:...
and Dracaena steudneri.
Subspecies
- Artitropa erinnys erinnys (coastal lowland and riverine forest from the eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal coast to Maputaland, spreading to the Limpopo Province)
- Artitropa erinnys ehlersi Karsch, 1896 (Kenya (Mount Sagala, Teita Hills, Shimba Hills))
- Artitropa erinnys vansommereni Riley, 1925 (Kenya (Meru, Nairobi, Ngong))
- Artitropa erinnys nyasae Riley, 1925 (Zimbabwe)
- Artitropa erinnys radiata Riley, 1925
- Artitropa erinnys comorarum Oberthür, 1916