The Striped Policeman 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 Hesperiidae family. It is found from Transkei

Transkei

The Transkei , officially the Republic of Transkei , was a Bantustan—an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity—and nominal parliamentary democracy in the southeastern region of South Africa...

 to 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 to Botswana

Botswana

Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...

. It is also present on Madagascar

Madagascar

The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...

.

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 45-55 mm for males and 55-64 mm for females. Adults are on wing year round in warmer areas with peaks September to April.

The larvae feed on a wide range of plants, including Parinari curatellifolia

Parinari curatellifolia

Parinari curatellifolia is an evergreen tropical tree of Africa, found in various kinds of deciduous woodland most frequently in poorly drained areas and inland at moderate altitudes...

, Lonchocarpus capassa, Combretum bracteosum, Combretum apiculatum, Solanum auriculatum, Solanum mauritianum

Solanum mauritianum

Solanum mauritianum is a small tree or shrub native to South America, including Northern Argentina, Southern Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. It has become a widespread invasive weed in Cook Islands, Fiji, Hawai‘i, New Caledonia, Norfolk Island, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Réunion Island, Mauritius,...

, Millettia sutherlandii, Sphedamnocarpus rhamni, Sphedamnocarpus pruriens and Robinia pseudacacia.

Subspecies

• Coeliades forestan forestan
• Coeliades forestan arbogastes (Guenee, 1863) (Madagascar)