Chrysoritis chrysaor
Encyclopedia
The Golden Copper or Burnished Opal (Chrysoritis chrysaor) is a butterfly
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 Lycaenidae
Lycaenidae
The Lycaenidae are the second-largest family of butterflies, with about 6000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies...

 family. It is found in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, where it is widespread in the east.

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 22-27 mm for males and 23-30 mm for females. Adults are on wing year round with peaks in November and February on high altitudes.

The larvae feed on Tylecodon paniculatus, Cotyledon orbiculata
Cotyledon orbiculata
Cotyledon orbiculata, commonly known as Pig's Ear or Round-leafed Navel-wort, is a succulent plant belonging to the Cotyledon genus.-Description:...

, Zygophyllum sessilifolium, Zygophyllum retrofractum, Acacia karroo
Acacia karroo
Acacia karroo also known as the Sweet Thorn, is a species of Acacia, native to southern Africa from southern Angola east to Mozambique, and south to South Africa....

and Rhus species. They are attended to by Crematogaster liengmei ants.
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