Stygionympha wichgrafi
Encyclopedia
Wichgraf’s Brown is a butterfly
of the Nymphalidae
family. It is found in South Africa
, Zimbabwe
and Mozambique
.
The wingspan
is 40-50 mm. Adults are on wing from August to March. There are probably multiple generations per year.
The larvae probably feed on Poaceae
grasses.
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 Nymphalidae
Nymphalidae
The Nymphalidae is a family of about 5,000 species of butterflies which are distributed throughout most of the world. These are usually medium sized to large butterflies. Most species have a reduced pair of forelegs and many hold their colourful wings flat when resting. They are also called...
family. It is found 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...
, 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...
and 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...
.
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 40-50 mm. Adults are on wing from August to March. There are probably multiple generations per year.
The larvae probably feed on Poaceae
Poaceae
The Poaceae is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called grasses, although the term "grass" is also applied to plants that are not in the Poaceae lineage, including the rushes and sedges...
grasses.
Subspecies
- Stygionympha wichgrafi wichgrafi (hills of the Orange Free State, Gauteng, Limpopo Province, North Western Province and Mpumalanga)
- Stygionympha wichgrafi lannini van Son, 1966 (Zimbabwe, Mozambique)
- Stygionympha wichgrafi williami Henning & Henning, 1996 (KwaZulu-Natal, the Orange Free State and from the mountains of Lesotho to the eastern Cape)
- Stygionympha wichgrafi grisea Henning & Henning, 1996 (low altitude hinterland of the KwaZulu-Natal coast)