''Nervia nerva'', the scarce ranger or scarce skipper, is a species of
butterfly 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 (
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 ...
,
Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal.
* South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...
), Zimbabwe, Angola and north-western Zambia.
The
wingspan is 27–31 mm for males and 33–36 mm for females. Adults are on wing from October to November and from February to April. There are two generations per year.
Subspecies
*''Nervia nerva nerva'' - South Africa (Limpopo Province, Mpumalanga, North West Province, Gauteng, Free State Province, KwaZulu-Natal)
*''Nervia nerva paola''
(Plötz, 1884) - Kenya, Tanzania, Angola, Zimbabwe, north-western Zambia
References
Butterflies described in 1793
{{Hesperiinae-stub