Lycaena orus
Encyclopedia
The Western Sorrel Copper (Lycaena orus) is a butterfly
of the Lycaenidae
family. It is found only in South Africa
.
The wingspan
is 21–27 mm. The butterfly flies year-round, peaking in summer.
Larval food is Polygonum undulatum
and Rumex lanceolatus
.
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
of the Lycaenidae
Lycaenidae
The Lycaenidae are the second-largest family of butterflies, with about 6000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies...
family. It is found only in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
The wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
is 21–27 mm. The butterfly flies year-round, peaking in summer.
Larval food is Polygonum undulatum
Polygonum
Polygonum is a genus in the Polygonaceae family. Common names include knotweed, knotgrass, bistort, tear-thumb, mile-a-minute, and several others. In the Middle English glossary of herbs "Alphita" , it was known as ars-smerte. There have been various opinions about how broadly the genus should be...
and Rumex lanceolatus
Rumex
The docks and sorrels, genus Rumex L., are a genus of about 200 species of annual, biennial and perennial herbs in the buckwheat family Polygonaceae....
.