Tarsocera cassina, the sand-dune widow, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in South Africa in the Western Cape along the coast from Lambert's Bay to Bredasdorp.

Sand-dune widow
In Adalbert Seitz's Fauna Africana
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Tarsocera
Species:
T. cassina
Binomial name
Tarsocera cassina
(Butler, 1868)[1]
Synonyms
  • Leptoneura cassina Butler, 1868

The wingspan is 35–40 mm for males and 40–45 mm for females. Adults are on wing from September/October to November. There is one generation per year[2]

The larvae feed on various Poaceae species, including Lolium species and Brachypodium distachyum.

References edit

  1. ^ Tarsocera 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.