Chrysoritis beaufortius, the Beaufort opal, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae found only in South Africa.
| Beaufort opal | |
|---|---|
| |
| Male | |
Scientific 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 | |
| |
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 edit
- 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
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Male and female
C. b. beaufortius -
Male and female
C. (b.) stepheni
_stepheni,_stel.jpg)
References edit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chrysoritis beaufortius.
Wikispecies has information related to Chrysoritis beaufortius.
- ^ Chrysoritis at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
- ^ Woodhall, Steve (2005). Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN 978-1-86872-724-7.