Chrysoritis pan

Chrysoritis pan, the Pan opal, is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is endemic to South Africa, where it is found in the Western Cape, the Northern Cape and the Eastern Cape.

Pan opal
Set of C. p. pan
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Lycaenidae
Genus: Chrysoritis
Species:
C. pan
Binomial name
Chrysoritis pan
(Pennington, 1962)
Synonyms
  • Poecilmitis pan Pennington, 1962
  • Poecilmitis lysander Pennington, 1962
  • Poecilmitis atlantica Dickson, 1966
  • Poecilmitis lysander hantamsbergae Dickson, 1978
  • Poecilmitis williami Heath, 1997
  • Poecilmitis dicksoni Henning, 1977
  • Poecilmitis henningi Bampton, 1981

The wingspan is 20–28 mm for males and 22–32 mm for females. Adults are on wing from August to May, with peaks from October to November and from February to March.[1]

The larvae feed on Osteospermum species, Chrysanthemoides incana and Zygophyllum retrofractum. They are attended to by Crematogaster liengmei ants.

Subspecies
  • Chrysoritis pan pan (South Africa: Western Cape)
  • Chrysoritis pan lysander (Pennington, 1962) (South Africa: Eastern Cape, Western Cape, Northern Cape)
  • Chrysoritis pan henningi (Bampton, 1981) (South Africa: Western Cape)

References
  1. 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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