Kingdom Animalia Class Insecta Family Lycaenidae Scientific name Cigaritis natalensis | Phylum Arthropoda Order Lepidoptera Genus Cigaritis Rank Species | |
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Similar Eicochrysops messapus, Tarucus sybaris, Axiocerses tjoane, Alaena amazoula, Tuxentius melaena | ||
Cigaritis natalensis, the Natal bar or Natal barred blue, is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found in South Africa, from the Eastern Cape along the coast to KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland, the Free State, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, Limpopo and North West provinces, and part of the Northern Cape province. It is also present in Botswana.
The wingspan is 25-32.5 mm for males and 26.5–34 mm for females. Adults are on wing year-round with peaks from September to October and from March to May.
The larvae feed on Canthium inerme, Clerodendron glabrum and Ximenia caffra.
References
Cigaritis natalensis Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA