Poecilmitis irene
Encyclopedia
Irene's Opal is a species of 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...

 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 found in fynbos on the Du Toit's Kloof mountains and Rivieronderendberge in the West Cape.

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 30-32 mm for males and 32-34 mm for females. Adults are on wing from October to April, with peaks in November and March. There are multiple generations per year.

The larvae probably feed on Dimorphotheca
Dimorphotheca
Dimorphotheca, commonly called Cape marigold, is one of eight genera of the Calenduleae, with a center of diversity in Southern Africa. Some species can hybridize with Osteospermum, and crosses are sold as cultivated ornamentals...

species.
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