Spialia mafa

Spialia mafa, the Mafa grizzled skipper or Mafa sandman, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found in south-western Africa, in KwaZulu-Natal, Botswana, Zimbabwe and from the Cape in South Africa to Sudan and southern Arabia.

Mafa sandman
In Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Hesperiidae
Genus:
Spialia
Species:
S. mafa
Binomial name
Spialia mafa
(Trimen, 1870)[1]
Synonyms
  • Pyrgus mafa Trimen, 1870
  • Hesperia oberthuri Aurivillius, 1925
  • Spialia aurivillii Shepard, 1935

These skippers are dark brown with white spots and both sides of the wings.[2]

Wingspan is from 22–26 mm.[2]

Flight period is year-round but peaks from September to April.[2]

The larvae feed on Hermannia, Pavonia and Hibiscus species (including Hibiscus aethiopicus).

Subspecies
  • Spialia mafa mafa (southern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, southern and south-eastern Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, central and northern Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho)
  • Spialia mafa higginsi Evans, 1937 (Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, south-western Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman)

References
  1. Spialia 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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