Puneet Varma (Editor)

Eretis umbra

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Kingdom
  
Animalia

Family
  
Hesperiidae

Scientific name
  
Eretis umbra

Rank
  
Species

Class
  
Insecta

Genus
  
Eretis

Phylum
  
Arthropoda

Order
  
Butterflies and moths

Eretis umbra

Similar
  
Eretis, Leptomyrina gorgias, Anthene definita, Tagiades flesus, Leptomyrina

Eretis umbra, the small marbled elf, is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family. It is found from South Africa to eastern Africa and Uganda. Similar to Eretis djaelaelae but lacks white forelegs.

The wingspan is 30–32 mm for males and 32–37 mm for females. Adults are on wing year-round in warmer areas and from August to May in cooler areas.

The larvae feed on Chaetacanthus setiger, Phaulopsis, Dyschoriste, Chaetacanthus, Justicia and Asystasia (including Asystasia schimperi).

Subspecies

  • Eretis umbra umbra (Swaziland, South Africa: along the coast from the western Cape to the eastern Cape, Swaziland, KwaZulu-Natal, the Orange Free State, Limpopo, the North-West Provinces, Mpumalanga, Gauteng and the eastern part of the northern Cape)
  • Eretis umbra maculifera Mabille & Boullet, 1916 (north-eastern Uganda, central and western Kenya, Tanzania)
  • Eretis umbra nox (Neave, 1910) (Malawi, southern and eastern Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe)

    • References

    Eretis umbra Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA