Metisella aegipan

Metisella aegipan, the mountain sylph or Shaka's ranger, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found in the mountains of the Cape in South Africa and in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Lesotho. The habitat consists of wetlands, marshy places, and grassy gullies in montane grassland.[2]

"Shaka's ranger" redirects here. For the other butterfly with this common name, see Kedestes chaca.

Mountain sylph
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Hesperiidae
Genus: Metisella
Species:
M. aegipan
Binomial name
Metisella aegipan
(Trimen, 1868)[1]
Synonyms
  • Cyclopides aegipan Trimen, 1868

The wingspan is 28–34 mm for males and 28–36 mm for females.[3]

These small to medium-sized skippers are brown on the upperside and yellow brown on the underside. They have a yellow patch on the upperside forewing.[3]

Their flight period is between December and February with a single brood.[3]

Subspecies
  • Metisella aegipan aegipan (South Africa, Lesotho)
  • Metisella aegipan inyanga Evans, 1955 (Zimbabwe, Mozambique)

References
  1. Metisella at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
  2. "Afrotropical Butterflies: Hesperiidae - Subfamily Heteropterinae". Archived from the original on 2014-08-19. Retrieved 2012-11-07.
  3. 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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