''Cigaritis phanes'', the silvery bar, is a
butterfly of the family
Lycaenidae. It is found in south-west
Africa, including
Botswana,
Zimbabwe and
South Africa. In South Africa it is found from north-western
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...
to the northern part of the
Free State,
Gauteng,
Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It ...
,
Limpopo,
North West and
Northern Cape
The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of the Kgalagadi T ...
.
The
wingspan is 24–27 mm for males and 26–30 mm for females. Adults are on wing year-round with peaks from September to November and from March to June.
The larvae feed on ''
Acacia mellifera
''Senegalia mellifera'' is a common thorn tree in Africa. The name ''mellifera'' refers to its sweet-smelling blossoms and honey. Its lumber turns pitch black when oiled. Common names of the tree include Blackthorn and Swarthaak (Afrikaans). I ...
'' and ''
Ximenia caffra
''Ximenia caffra'', the sourplum, is a small tree or small shrub that is thinly branched. It is part of the Olacaceae family which is native throughout tropical regions. In particular, the sourplum is native to regions in South East Africa, mai ...
''. They are associated with the ant species ''
Crematogaster castanea
''Crematogaster castanea'' is a species of ant in tribe Crematogastrini. It was described by Smith in 1858.
Subspecies
There are 20 named subspecies:
References
castanea
The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the gen ...
''.
References
External links
''Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde'' 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 69''d,e''
Butterflies described in 1873
Cigaritis
Butterflies of Africa
Taxa named by Roland Trimen
{{Aphnaeini-stub