''Spialia spio'', the mountain sandman or Spio grizzled skipper, 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 tropical

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and south-western

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...

. In South Africa it is found all over the eastern side of the country. 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 22–29 mm for males and 28–31 mm for females. Adults are on wing year-round in warmer areas. In South Africa it is more common in warmer months. In cooler areas adults are on wing from August to April. The larvae feed on ''

Lavatera arborea ''Malva arborea'' (also known as ''Lavatera arborea'', or, more recently as ''Malva eriocalyx''), the tree mallow, is a species of mallow native to the coasts of western Europe and the Mediterranean region, from Ireland and Britain south to Alger ...

'', ''

Hibiscus ''Hibiscus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. The genus is quite large, comprising several hundred species that are native to warm temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. Member species ...

'' (including ''

Hibiscus aethiopicus ''Hibiscus aethiopicus'' is a small, prostrate to semi-erect herbaceous perennial in the family Malvaceae, indigenous to eastern and southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo ...

'', '' Hibiscus gossypinus'' and ''

Hibiscus pusillus ''Hibiscus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the Malva, mallow family, Malvaceae. The genus is quite large, comprising List of Hibiscus species, several hundred species that are Native plant, native to warm temperate, Subtropics, subtropical a ...

''), '' Sida'', '' Pavonia'' (including ''

Pavonia burchellii Pavonia may refer to: Localities * In New Jersey, United States: ** Pavonia Ferry, former ferry service between New York City and Jersey City ** Pavonia, Jersey City, a section of Newport, Jersey City ** Pavonia, New Netherland, the Dutch settleme ...

'', '' Pavonia macrophylla'' and '' Pavonia columella''), ''

Triumfetta ''Triumfetta'' is a genus of plants in the family Malvaceae Malvaceae, or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include okra, cotton, ...

'' and ''

Hermannia ''Hermannia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It comprises at least 65 species with many more species as yet unresolved. The genus commemorates Prof. Paul Hermann (1646-1695), a German professor of botany at Ley ...

'' species (including '' Hermannia diffusa'', '' Hermannia incana'', '' Hermannia comosa'', '' Hermannia coccocarpa'', '' Hermannia candicans'', '' Hermannia pilosula'', '' Hermannia pallius'', '' Hermannia pollens'' and '' Hermannia cuneifolia'').

References

Spialia Butterflies described in 1764 Butterflies of Africa Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Pyrginae-stub