''Chrysoritis pyroeis'', the sand-dune 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 ...

. 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 22–31 mm for males and 25–38 mm for females. Adults are on wing from August to April with peaks from September to October and in February. There are several generations per year. The larvae feed on '' Zygophyllum flexuosum'' and ''

Thesium ''Thesium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Santalaceae. It is particularly well represented in South Africa. The following species are recognised by ''The Plant List'': *'' Thesium acuminatum'' A.W. Hill *''Thesium acutissimum'' A ...

'' species. They are attended to by '' Myrmicaria nigra'' ants.

Subspecies

*''Chrysoritis pyroeis pyroeis'' (Western Cape, along the west coast to the Northern Cape and along the south coast to Stilbaai) *''Chrysoritis pyroeis hersaleki'' (Dickson, 1970) (fynbos in coastal hills near Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape)

References

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