Platylesches robustus
Encyclopedia
The Robust Hopper is a butterfly
of the Hesperiidae family. It is found in Zululand
, Swaziland
, Transvaal
, Mozambique
and Zimbabwe
.
The wingspan
is 34–42 mm for males and 36–44 mm for females. Adults are on wing from August to October and from March to April and occasionally also in midsummer. There are two generations per year.
The larvae probably feed on Parinari curatellifolia
.
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 Hesperiidae family. It is found in Zululand
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the homeland of KwaZulu....
, Swaziland
Swaziland
Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...
, Transvaal
Transvaal Province
Transvaal Province was a province of the Union of South Africa from 1910 to 1961, and of its successor, the Republic of South Africa, from 1961 until the end of apartheid in 1994 when a new constitution subdivided it.-History:...
, Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
and Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
.
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 34–42 mm for males and 36–44 mm for females. Adults are on wing from August to October and from March to April and occasionally also in midsummer. There are two generations per year.
The larvae probably feed on Parinari curatellifolia
Parinari curatellifolia
Parinari curatellifolia is an evergreen tropical tree of Africa, found in various kinds of deciduous woodland most frequently in poorly drained areas and inland at moderate altitudes...
.
Subspecies
- Platylesches robustus robustus (from Swaziland to KwaZulu-Natal, the lowveld of Mpumalanga and the Limpopo Province, north to Maputo in Mozambique)
- Platylesches robustus villa Evans, 1937
- Platylesches robustus fofi Larsen & Mei, 1998