Thestor basutus

Thestor basutus, the Basuto skolly or Basuto magpie, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe.

Basotho skolly
T. b. basutus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Lycaenidae
Genus:
Thestor
Species:
T. basutus
Binomial name
Thestor basutus
Synonyms
  • Zeritis basuta Wallengren, 1857
  • Zeretis zaraces Hewitson, 1874

The wingspan is 30–39 mm for males and 35–42 mm for females. Adults are on wing from October to November and from February to April. There is one generation per year.[2]

Larvae of subspecies basutus have been reared on psyllids in nests of the pugnacious ant (Anoplolepis custodiens). Larvae of subspecies capeneri feed on Pulvinaria iceryi until their third instar, the fourth and final instar larvae live in the nests of pugnacious ants, which feed them by trophallaxis, they also feed on detritus and ant larvae.

Subspecies
  • Thestor basutus basutus (East Cape to Lesotho, the KwaZulu-Natal midlands, the Orange Free State, the North West Province and North Cape, Botswana, eastern Zimbabwe)
  • Thestor basutus capeneri Dickson, 1972 (Gauteng and, Limpopo Province and Mpumalanga)

References
  1. Thestor 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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