Metisella metis

Metisella metis, the gold spotted sylph, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found in the Cape and KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa.

Gold spotted sylph
Female, Cape Town
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Hesperiidae
Genus: Metisella
Species:
M. metis
Binomial name
Metisella metis
(Linnaeus, 1764)[1]
Synonyms
  • Papilio metis Linnaeus, 1764
  • Hesperia metis
  • Cyclopides metis
  • Heteropterus metis

The wingspan is 26–34 mm for males and 30–33 mm for females.[2] The upperside of the wings are dark brown or black with a number of gold spots.[2] The flight period is year-round, peaking between September and November and between February and March.[2]

The larvae feed on Stenotaphrum glabrum, Panicum deustum, Ehrharta erecta and Stipa dregeana.

Subspecies
  • Metisella metis metis (South Africa: Western Cape Province, from the Cape Peninsula, east to the Swellendam district)
  • Metisella metis paris Evans, 1937 (Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, South Africa: Limpopo Province, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape Province, Western Cape Province)

References
  1. Metisella at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
  2. Woodhall, Steve (2005). Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN 978-1-86872-724-7.


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