Chrysoritis beaufortius

Chrysoritis beaufortius, the Beaufort opal, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae found only in South Africa.

Beaufort opal
Male
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Lycaenidae
Genus: Chrysoritis
Species:
C. beaufortius
Binomial name
Chrysoritis beaufortius
(Dickson, 1966)[1]
Synonyms
  • Poecilmitis beaufortius Dickson, 1966
  • Poecilmitis stepheni Dickson, 1966
  • Poecilmitis kaplani Henning, 1979

The wingspan is 32–36 mm for males and 32–38 mm for females. The flight period is from August to February in one brood.[2]

Larvae feed on Dimorphotheca cuneata. They are associated with Crematogaster peringueyi ants.

Subspecies
  • Chrysoritis beaufortius beaufortius – South Africa: Western Cape
  • Chrysoritis beaufortius charlesi (Dickson, 1970) – South Africa: Northern Cape
  • Chrysoritis beaufortius stepheni (Dickson, 1978) – South Africa: Northern Cape
  • Chrysoritis beaufortius sutherlandensis Heath & Pringle, 2007 – South Africa: Northern Cape

References
  1. Chrysoritis 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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