Thestor brachycerus
Encyclopedia
The Knysna Skolly is a species of butterfly
in the Lycaenidae
family. It is endemic to South Africa
.
The wingspan
is 27-36 mm for males and 29-39 mm for females. Adults are on wing from December to January. There is one generation per year.
Larvae have been found in the nests of the Pugnacious Ant Anoplepsis custodiens, but the larval food is unknown.
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...
.
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 27-36 mm for males and 29-39 mm for females. Adults are on wing from December to January. There is one generation per year.
Larvae have been found in the nests of the Pugnacious Ant Anoplepsis custodiens, but the larval food is unknown.
Subspecies
- Thestor brachycerus brachycerus (West Cape, confined to the heads at Knysna)
- Thestor brachycerus dukei van Son, 1951 (in Karoo and Fynbos along Langeberg from Die Koo to Montagu, then along Swartberg and Elandsberg to the Outeniqua Mountains and along the southern West Cape coast from Kogelberg to Stanford)