Chrysoritis pyramus, the Pyramus opal, is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is endemic to South Africa, where it is found on the northern slopes of the Swartberg, the Kammanassie Mountains and the Langeberg in the Western Cape.
| Pyramus opal | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Lycaenidae |
| Genus: | Chrysoritis |
| Species: | C. pyramus
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| Binomial name | |
| Chrysoritis pyramus (Pennington, 1953)
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| Synonyms | |
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The wingspan is 32–36 mm for males and 32–38 mm for females. Adults are on wing from October to January, with a peak in November. There is one extended generation per year.[1]
The larvae feed on Thesium, Osteospermum asperulum and Dimorphotheca montana. They are attended to by Crematogaster peringueyi ants.
Subspecies edit
- Chrysoritis pyramus pyramus (South Africa: Western Cape)
- Chrysoritis pyramus balli (Dickson & Henning, 1981) (South Africa: Western Cape)
References edit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chrysoritis pyramus.
Wikispecies has information related to Chrysoritis pyramus.
- ^ Woodhall, Steve (2005). Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN 978-1-86872-724-7.
- Gimenez Dixon, M. (1996). "Poecilmitis pyramus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1996: e.T17856A7571082. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T17856A7571082.en. Retrieved 17 November 2021.