''Kedestes lenis'', the unique ranger, 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

Hesperiidae Skippers are a family of the Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) named the Hesperiidae. Being diurnal, they are generally called butterflies. They were previously placed in a separate superfamily, Hesperioidea; however, the most recent taxonomy ...

. 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 26–31 mm for males and 29–35 mm for females. Adults are on wing from October to March (with a peak in spring for subspecies ''K. l. lenis'' and in midsummer for subspecies ''K. l. alba''). There is one generation per year. The larvae feed on ''

Imperata cylindrica ''Imperata cylindrica'' (commonly known as cogongrass or kunai grass ) is a species of Perennial plant, perennial rhizomatous grass native to tropical and subtropical Asia, Micronesia, Melanesia, Australia, Africa, and southern Europe. It has al ...

'' and ''

Imperata arundinacea ''Imperata cylindrica'' (commonly known as cogongrass or kunai grass ) is a species of perennial rhizomatous grass native to tropical and subtropical Asia, Micronesia, Melanesia, Australia, Africa, and southern Europe. It has also been introduc ...

''.

Subspecies

*''Kedestes lenis lenis'' (Strandfontein east of Muizenberg in West Cape) *''Kedestes lenis alba'' Henning, Henning, Joannou & Woodhall, 1997 (mountains in northern East Cape and Orange Free State, and along the south-eastern foothills of the Drakensberg in KwaZulu-Natal)

References

Butterflies described in 1932 l Endemic butterflies of South Africa {{Erionotini-stub