Dickson's Copper
Encyclopedia
Dickson's Copper or Dickson's Strandveld Copper (Chrysoritis dicksoni) is a species of butterfly
in the Lycaenidae
family. It is endemic to South Africa
, where it is only known inland from Witsand in a single spot in Fynbos. Previously, it was also found north of Cape Town. It is sometimes separated in the monotypic
genus
Oxychaeta.
The wingspan
is 26-35 mm for males and 33-40 mm for females. Adults are on wing from late July to mid September. There is one generation per year.
The larvae feed through trophallaxis
from Cremogaster 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...
in 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 endemic to 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 only known inland from Witsand in a single spot in Fynbos. Previously, it was also found north of Cape Town. It is sometimes separated in the monotypic
Monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...
genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Oxychaeta.
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 26-35 mm for males and 33-40 mm for females. Adults are on wing from late July to mid September. There is one generation per year.
The larvae feed through trophallaxis
Trophallaxis
Trophallaxis is the transfer of food or other fluids among members of a community through mouth-to-mouth or anus-to-mouth feeding. It is most highly developed in social insects such as ants, termites, wasps and bees. The word was introduced by the entomologist William Morton Wheeler in 1918...
from Cremogaster peringueyi ants.