Chrysoritis palmus

Chrysoritis palmus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Lycaenidae
Genus:	Chrysoritis
Species:	C. palmus
Binomial name
	Chrysoritis palmus; (Stoll, [1781])[1]
Synonyms
	Papilio palmus Stoll, [1781]; Poecilmitis palmus; Poecilmitis palmus margueritae Dickson, 1982;

Chrysoritis palmus, the water opal, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in South Africa.

The wingspan is 21–29 mm for males and 25–31 mm for females. Adults of C. p. palmus are on year from September to April, with a peak in December. The peak for C. p. margueritae is January to March. There are several generations per year.[2]

The larvae feed on Aspalathus sarcantha, Aspalathus carnosa, Chrysanthemoides monilifera, Berzelia intermedia, Berzelia lanuginosa and Berzelia abrotanoides. They are attended to by Crematogaster peringueyi ants.

Subspecies

Chrysoritis palmus palmus (Western Cape)
Chrysoritis palmus margueritae (Dickson, 1982) (Western Cape to Eastern Cape)

References

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.

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[1] Chrysoritis at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms

[2] Woodhall, Steve (2005). Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN 978-1-86872-724-7.