''Chrysoritis chrysaor'', the golden copper or burnished opal, is a

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

of the family

Lycaenidae Lycaenidae is the second-largest family of butterflies (behind Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflies), with over 6,000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies. They constitute about 30% of the known butterfl ...

. It is found in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, where it is widespread in the east. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

is 22–27 mm for males and 23–30 mm for females. Adults are on the wing year-round with peaks in November and February at high altitudes. The larvae feed on ''

Tylecodon paniculatus ''Tylecodon paniculatus'', also known as butter bush, butter tree, butterboom or rooisuikerblom (Afrikaans), is a species of succulent plant in the genus ''Tylecodon'' belonging to the family Crassulaceae. Etymology The genus name is a syllabi ...

'', ''

Cotyledon orbiculata ''Cotyledon orbiculata'', commonly known as pig's ear or round-leafed navel-wort, is a South African succulent plant belonging to the genus ''Cotyledon''. Description ''Cotyledon orbiculata'' is an extremely variable species, one that grows to a ...

'', '' Zygophyllum sessilifolium'', '' Z. retrofractum'', ''

Acacia karroo ''Vachellia karroo'', commonly known as the sweet thorn, common acacia, Karoo thorn, Cape gum or cockspur thorn, is a species of ''Vachellia'', native to southern Africa from southern Angola east to Mozambique, and south to South Africa. It is ...

'' and ''

Rhus Sumac ( or ), also spelled sumach, is any of about 35 species of flowering plants in the genus ''Rhus'' and related genera in the cashew family (Anacardiaceae). Sumacs grow in subtropical and temperate regions throughout the world, including Eas ...

'' species. They are attended to by '' Crematogaster liengmei'' ants.

References

Butterflies described in 1864 Chrysoritis Endemic butterflies of South Africa Taxa named by Roland Trimen {{Aphnaeini-stub