Chrysoritis thysbe

Opal Copper
Possibly Chrysoritis thysbe
Possibly Chrysoritis thysbe
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Lycaenidae
Genus:	Chrysoritis
Species:	C. thysbe
Binomial name
Chrysoritis thysbe (Linnaeus, 1764)[1]
Synonyms
Papilio thysbe Linnaeus, 1764 Papilio nais Cramer, 1775 Papilio splendens Swainson, 1833 Phasis osbecki Aurivillius, 1882 Poecilmitis psyche Pennington, 1967 Poecilmitis bamptoni Dickson, 1976 Poecilmitis lyndseyae Henning, 1979 Poecilmitis thysbe schloszae Dickson, 1994 Poecilmitis whitei Dickson, 1994 Poecilmitis mithras Pringle, 1995

The Opal Copper or Common Opal (Chrysoritis thysbe) is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found in South Africa.

The wingspan is 24–32 mm for males and 23–35 mm for females. Adults are on wing year round with peaks in October and March.^[2]

The larvae feed on Chrysanthemoides incana, Chrysanthemoides monilifera, Osteospermum polygaloides, Lebeckia plukenetiana, Aspalathus, Zygophyllum and Thesium species. They are attended to by Crematogaster peringueyi ants.

Subspecies

• Chrysoritis thysbe thysbe (Cape Peninsula to Mossel Bay, north to Lambert’s Bay, inland to Piketberg and Citrusdal)
• Chrysoritis thysbe osbecki (Aurivillius, 1882)
• Chrysoritis thysbe psyche (Pennington, 1967) (from Bitterfontein south to Nardouwsberg in the Western Cape)
• Chrysoritis thysbe bamptoni (Dickson, 1976) (Hondeklipbaai area, inland to Wallekraal in the Northern Cape)
• Chrysoritis thysbe schloszae (Dickson, 1994) (Moorreesburg area in the Western Cape)
• Chrysoritis thysbe whitei (Dickson, 1994) (Port Elizabeth area in the Eastern Cape)
• Chrysoritis thysbe mithras (Pringle, 1995) (Stilbaai to Brenton-on-Sea in the Western Cape)

• 

  C. t. thysbe
• 

  C. t. osbecki
• 

  C. t. psyche
• 

  C. t. whitei

References

1. Chrysoritis, Site of Markku Savela
2. Woodhall, S. Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa, Cape Town: Struik Publishers, 2005.