Chrysoritis thysbe
Encyclopedia
The Opal Copper or Common Opal (Chrysoritis thysbe) is a butterfly
of the Lycaenidae
family. It is found in South Africa
.
The wingspan
is 24-32 mm for males and 23-35 mm for females. Adults are on wing year round with peaks in October and March.
The larvae feed on Chrysanthemoides incana, Chrysanthemoides monilifera
, Osteospermum polygaloides, Lebeckia plukenetiana, Aspalathus
, Zygophyllum
and Thesium
species. They are attended to by Crematogaster peringueyi ants.
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...
.
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 24-32 mm for males and 23-35 mm for females. Adults are on wing year round with peaks in October and March.
The larvae feed on Chrysanthemoides incana, Chrysanthemoides monilifera
Chrysanthemoides monilifera
Chrysanthemoides monilifera...
, Osteospermum polygaloides, Lebeckia plukenetiana, Aspalathus
Aspalathus
Aspalathus is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. The yellow flowers and spiny habit of some species have suggested a resemblance to Ulex europaeus, the thorny "English gorse" Accordingly "Cape Gorse" has been proposed as a common name although the resemblance is largely...
, Zygophyllum
Zygophyllum
Zygophyllum is the type genus of the flowering plant family Zygophyllaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek words ζυγόν , meaning "yoke," and φυλλον , meaning "leaf." It refers to the leaves, each of which have two leaflets...
and Thesium
Thesium
Thesium is a genus of plants in the family Santalaceae. It contains about 325 species distributed on all Old World continents, but is most diverse in South Africa....
species. They are attended to by Crematogaster peringueyi ants.
Subspecies
- Chrysoritis thysbe thysbe (Cape Peninsula to Mossel Bay, north to Lambert’s Bay, inland to Piketberg and Citrusdal)
- Chrysoritis thysbe osbecki (Aurivillius, 1882)
- Chrysoritis thysbe psyche (Pennington, 1967) (from Bitterfontein south to Nardouwsberg in the West Cape)
- Chrysoritis thysbe bamptoni (Dickson, 1976) (Hondeklipbaai area, inland to Wallekraal in the North Cape)
- Chrysoritis thysbe schloszae (Dickson, 1994) (Moorreesburg area in the West Cape)
- Chrysoritis thysbe whitei (Dickson, 1994) (Port Elizabeth area in the East Cape)
- Chrysoritis thysbe mithras (Pringle, 1995) (Stilbaai to Brenton-on-Sea in the West Cape)