Lycaena orus

Western Sorrel Copper
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Lycaenidae
Genus: Lycaena
Species: L. orus
Binomial name
Lycaena orus
(Stoll, [1780])[1]
Synonyms
  • Papilio orus Cramer, 1780
  • Papilio arcas Fabricius, 1787

The Western Sorrel Copper (Lycaena orus) is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found only in South Africa[2] (Eastern Cape Province, Western Cape Province). The habitat consists of fynbos at various altitudes, from sea-level to montane regions.

The wingspan is 21–27 mm. The butterfly flies year-round, peaking in summer.[2]

Larval food is Polygonum undulatum and Rumex lanceolatus.[2] They feed on the edge of the leaves of their host plant, occupying the portion eaten out, the dorsal line of the larva resembling the actual edge of the leaf. The general colour of the larvae matches the leaf or stalk where it is feeding, some are plain green, while others have a pink or salmon dorsal stripe.[3]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lycaena orus.
Wikispecies has information related to: Lycaena orus
  1. ↑ Lycaena, funet.fi
  2. 1 2 3 Woodhall, S. Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa, Cape Town: Struik Publishers, 2005.
  3. ↑ Afrotropical Butterflies: Lycaenidae - Subfamily Lycaeninae


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, August 16, 2014. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.