Phasis pringlei

Phasis pringlei
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Lycaenidae
Genus:	Phasis
Species:	P. pringlei
Binomial name
Phasis pringlei Dickson, 1977

Pringle's Arrowhead (Phasis pringlei) is a species of butterfly in the Lycaenidae family. It is endemic to South Africa, where it is found in the Roggeveld escarpment of the North Cape.

The wingspan is 32–38 mm for males and 36–43 mm females. Adults are on wing from September to December with a peak in November. There is one generation per year.^[1]

The larvae feed on Melianthus (including Melianthus major) and Rhus species. They are associated with the ant species Crematogaster peringueyi.^[2]

References

1. Woodhall, S. Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa, Cape Town: Struik Publishers, 2005.
2. Afrotropical Butterflies: Lycaenidae - Tribe Aphnaeini (part 4)

• Gimenez Dixon, M. 1996. Phasis pringlei. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 31 July 2007.