Thestor protumnus

Thestor protumnus, the Boland skolly, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is only found in South Africa.

Boland skolly
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Lycaenidae
Genus: Thestor
Species:
T. protumnus
Binomial name
Thestor protumnus
(Linnaeus, 1764)[1]
Synonyms
  • Papilio protumnus Linnaeus, 1764
  • Papilio petalus Cramer, [1779]
  • Thestor protumnus mijburghi Dickson & Wykeham, 1994
  • Thestor terblanchei Henning & Henning, 1993
  • Papilio silvius Fabricius, 1787

The wingspan is 22–37.5 mm for males and 24–42.5 mm for females. Adults are on wing from September to December and August to October in Namaqualand. Subspecies terblanchei is on wing from January to March. The peak flight times vary per locality.[2]

The larvae feed on coccids (scale insects).

Subspecies

  • Thestor protumnus protumnus – Cape Peninsula, south-western Cape
  • Thestor protumnus aridus van Son, 1941 – Cape, Free State
  • Thestor protumnus terblanchei Henning & Henning, 1993 – Free State
T. p. subsp. aridus, the desert Boland skolly

References

  1. Thestor 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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