Tarsocera cassus

Tarsocera cassus, the spring widow, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in South Africa.

Spring widow
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Tarsocera
Species:
T. cassus
Binomial name
Tarsocera cassus
(Linnaeus, 1764)[1]
Synonyms
  • Papilio cassus Linnaeus, 1764
  • Dira cassus (Linnaeus, 1764)

The wingspan is 42–52 mm for males and 50–57 mm for females. Adults are on wing from September to December (with a peak in October or November). There is one generation per year[2]

The larvae feed on various Poaceae species, including Lolium temulentum and Haparrhenia hirta.

Subspecies
  • Tarsocera cassus cassus (northern Cape south to the south-western parts of the West Cape)
  • Tarsocera cassus outeniqua Vári, 1971 (Little Karoo and the south-eastern part of the West Cape)

References
  1. Tarsocera 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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