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Cacyreus tespis

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Cacyreus tespis
Scientific classification
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C. tespis
Binomial name
Cacyreus tespis
(Herbst, 1804)[1]
Synonyms
  • Papilio tespis Herbst, 1804
  • Papilio palemon Stoll, 1782
  • Cupido palemon var. fracta Grünberg, 1911
  • Cacyreus palemon f. ecaudata Stempffer, 1950
  • Cacyreus palemon ghimirra Talbot, 1935

Cacyreus tespis, the water bronze or water blue, is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found from South Africa to Ethiopia.

The wingspan is 15–25 mm for males and 17–25 mm for females. Adults are on wing year round in warmer areas, but usually from August to May. At higher altitudes adults are on wing in December and January.[2]

The larvae feed on the buds and green seeds of Geranium and Pelargonium species.

Subspecies

  • Cacyreus tespis tespis (Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo: Kivu and Maniema, Rwanda, Burundi, Zambia, Mozambique, eastern Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Lesotho, South Africa: Limpopo Province, Mpumalanga, North West Province, Gauteng, Free State Province, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape Province, Western Cape Province and the Northern Cape Province)
  • Cacyreus tespis ghimirra Talbot, 1935 (highlands of Ethiopia)

References

  1. ^ Cacyreus at Markku Savela's website on Lepidoptera
  2. ^ Woodhall, S. Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa, Cape Town: Struik Publishers, 2005.