''Platylesches robustus'', the robust hopper or large hopper, 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 Zululand,

Eswatini Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

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, ...

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

and

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

. The habitat consists of moist, frost-free savanna and the transitional zone between forest and

Guinea savanna Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

. 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 34–42 mm for males and 36–44 mm for females. Adults are on wing from August to October and from March to April and occasionally also in midsummer. There are two generations per year. Adults feed from flowers on trees and visit muddy patches. The larvae probably feed on ''

Parinari curatellifolia ''Parinari curatellifolia'' ( bm, Tutu; yo, Ìdòfún) is an evergreen tropical tree of Africa, found in various kinds of deciduous woodland most frequently in poorly drained areas and inland at moderate altitudes. It is also known as mmupudu (b ...

''. They are salmon pink with small creamy white spots and a golden-brown head with darker brown stripes. The larvae built a shelter from the leaves of their host plant.Afrotropical Butterflies: Hesperiidae - Subfamily Hesperiinae
/ref>

Subspecies

*''Platylesches robustus robustus'' (Democratic Republic of the Congo: Shaba, Rwanda, south-western Tanzania, Malawi, northern Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and from Eswatini to KwaZulu-Natal, the lowveld of Mpumalanga and the Limpopo Province) *''Platylesches robustus fofi'' Larsen & Mei, 1998 (Guinea) *''Platylesches robustus villa'' Evans, 1937 (southern Cameroon)

References

Butterflies described in 1910 Erionotini {{Erionotini-stub