Ypthima asterope
Encyclopedia
The Common Threering or African Ringlet (Ypthima asterope) is a species of Satyrinae
butterfly
found in most dry areas of both Africa
and Asia
.
The wingspan
is 30-34 mm for males and 32-38 mm for females. Adults are on wing year round with peaks in summer and autumn in southern Africa. There is one generation per year.
The larvae feed on Poaceae
grasses. Larvae have also been reared on Ehrharta erecta
.
Satyrinae
Satyrinae, the satyrines or satyrids, commonly known as the Browns, is a subfamily of the Nymphalidae . They were formerly considered a distinct family, Satyridae. This group contains nearly half of the known diversity of brush-footed butterflies...
butterfly
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...
found in most dry areas of both Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
.
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 30-34 mm for males and 32-38 mm for females. Adults are on wing year round with peaks in summer and autumn in southern Africa. There is one generation per year.
The larvae 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. Larvae have also been reared on Ehrharta erecta
Ehrharta erecta
Ehrharta erecta is a species of grass also known as panic veldtgrass. The species is native to Southern Africa and Yemen. It is a documented invasive species in the United States, New Zealand, Australia, southern Europe, and China....
.
Subspecies
- Ypthima asterope asterope (India, Arabia, northern Tropical Africa)
- Ypthima asterope mahratta Moore, 1884 (north-western India to Assam)
- Ypthima asterope hereroica van Son, 1955 (South-western Africa, Namibia)