Chrysoritis felthami explained

Chrysoritis felthami, the Feltham's opal, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in South Africa. It was originally described by Roland Trimen under the name Zeritis felthami.^[1] This species was named in honour of Henry Louis Langley Feltham.

The wingspan is 22–27 mm for males and 23–33 mm for females. Adults are on wing from August to April with peaks in October and February. There are several generations per year.^[2]

The larvae feed on Zygophyllum flexuosum and Zygophyllum sessilifolium. They are attended to by Crematogaster peringueyi ants.

Subspecies

• Chrysoritis felthami felthami (coastal fynbos in Western Cape)
• Chrysoritis felthami dukei (Dickson, 1967) (Steinkopf area in Northern Cape to Western Cape)

Notes and References

1. Trimen. Roland. 1904-06-15. On some new or imperfectly-known forms of South-African Butterflies. Transactions of the Entomological Society of London. English. 1904. 2 . 231–248. 10.1111/j.1365-2311.1904.tb02745.x . Biodiversity Heritage Library.
2. Book: Woodhall, Steve . Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa . 2005 . Cape Town, South Africa . Struik . 978-1-86872-724-7 .