Cigaritis ella

Cigaritis ella
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Lycaenidae
Genus:	Cigaritis
Species:	C. ella
Binomial name
Cigaritis ella (Hewitson, [1865])[1]
Synonyms
Aphnaeus ella Hewitson, [1865] Spindasis ella

Ella’s Bar (Cigaritis ella) is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found from South Africa to the coast of eastern Kenya. In South Africa it is found from the East Cape along the coast to KwaZulu-Natal, then inland to Swaziland, the Orange Free State, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, the Limpopo Province, the North West Province and the North Cape.

The wingspan is 21-24 mm for males and 25-30 mm for females. Adults are on wing year round with peaks from August to October and from March to July^[2].

The larvae feed on Ximenia caffra. The larvae hide in crevices and under the bark of their host plant.

References

1. ^ Cigaritis, Site of Markku Savela
2. ^ Woodhall, S. Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa, Cape Town: Struik Publishers, 2005.