''Cassionympha detecta'', the Cape brown, 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
Nymphalidae. 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 ...
, in the mountains of the
Western Cape
The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...
from
Cederberg
The Cederberg mountains are located near Clanwilliam, approximately 300 km north of Cape Town, South Africa at about . The mountain range is named after the endangered Clanwilliam cedar (''Widdringtonia wallichii''), which is a tree end ...
to
Swartberg down to the coast, then along the south-east coast and hills to the
Eastern Cape
The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha.
The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...
and into
Great Karoo.
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 33–37 mm for males and 34–38 mm for females. Adults are on wing from September to April (with a peak from October to March).
The larvae feed on various sedges and
restios
The Restionaceae, also called restiads and restios, are a family of flowering plants native to the Southern Hemisphere; they vary from a few centimeters to 3 meters in height. Following the APG IV (2016): the family now includes the former famil ...
, including ''
Ficinia ramosissima
''Ficinia'' is a genus of tufted or rhizomatous sedges in the family Cyperaceae. There are around 70 recognised species in Africa, four species ('' Ficinia ambigua'', '' Ficinia anomala'', '' Ficinia nodosa,'' and '' Ficinia spiralis'') that oc ...
'', ''
Ficinia elongata
''Ficinia'' is a genus of tufted or rhizomatous sedges in the family Cyperaceae. There are around 70 recognised species in Africa, four species ('' Ficinia ambigua'', '' Ficinia anomala'', '' Ficinia nodosa,'' and '' Ficinia spiralis'') that oc ...
'', possibly ''
Ficinia acuminate
''Ficinia'' is a genus of tufted or rhizomatous sedges in the family Cyperaceae. There are around 70 recognised species in Africa, four species ('' Ficinia ambigua'', '' Ficinia anomala'', '' Ficinia nodosa,'' and '' Ficinia spiralis'') that oc ...
'', ''
Restio
''Restio'' is a genus of flowering plants within the family Restionaceae, described in 1772.Rottbøll, Christen Friis. 1772. Descriptiones Plantarum Rariorum 9 The entire genus is endemic to South Africa (Cape Province and KwaZulu-Natal).
In c ...
'' species, including ''
Restio tenuissimus
''Restio'' is a genus of flowering plants within the family Restionaceae, described in 1772.Rottbøll, Christen Friis. 1772. Descriptiones Plantarum Rariorum 9 The entire genus is endemic to South Africa (Cape Province and KwaZulu-Natal).
In ...
''.
References
Satyrini
Butterflies described in 1914
{{Satyrini-stub