Eretis umbra

Eretis umbra
Eretis umbra
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Hesperiidae
Genus: Eretis
Species: E. umbra
Binomial name
Eretis umbra
(Trimen, 1862)[1]
Synonyms
  • Nisoniades umbra Trimen, 1862

The Small Marbled Elf (Eretis umbra) is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family. It is found from South Africa to eastern Africa and Uganda.

The wingspan is 30–32 mm for males and 32–37 mm for females. Adults are on wing year round in warmer areas and from August to May in cooler areas.[2]

The larvae feed on Chaetacanthus setiger, Phaulopsis, Dyschoriste, Chaetacanthus, Justicia and Asystasia (including Asystasia schimperi).

Subspecies

  • Eretis umbra umbra (along the coast from the western Cape to the eastern Cape, Swaziland, KwaZulu-Natal, the Orange Free State, Limpopo, the North-West Provinces, Mpumalanga, Gauteng and the eastern part of the northern Cape)
  • Eretis umbra nox Neave, 1910 (Zimbabwe, Mozambique)
  • Eretis umbra maculifera Mabille & Boullet, 1916

References

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


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