Cacyreus tespis
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| Water bronze | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Lycaenidae |
| Genus: | Cacyreus |
| Species: | C. tespis
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| Binomial name | |
| Cacyreus tespis | |
| Synonyms | |
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Cacyreus tespis, the water bronze or water blue, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found from South Africa to Ethiopia.
The wingspan is 15–25 mm for males and 17–25 mm for females. Adults are on wing year-round in warmer areas, but usually from August to May. At higher altitudes adults are on wing in December and January.[2]
The larvae feed on the buds and green seeds of Geranium and Pelargonium species.
Subspecies
- Cacyreus tespis tespis – Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo: Kivu and Maniema, Rwanda, Burundi, Zambia, Mozambique, eastern Zimbabwe, Eswatini, Lesotho, South Africa: Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West, Gauteng, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Western Cape and Northern Cape provinces
- Cacyreus tespis ghimirra Talbot, 1935 – highlands of Ethiopia
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cacyreus tespis.
Wikispecies has information related to Cacyreus tespis.
- ^ Cacyreus 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.