|
Metisella Syrinx
''Metisella syrinx'', the bamboo sylph or bamboes-walsertjie, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is a rare and highly localised species which is only known from South Africa in the eastern Cape of Good Hope, Cape, through southern Lesotho to the extreme south of KwaZulu-Natal. The habitat consists of rocky areas on the summits of mountains, in montane grassland. Distribution ''M. syrinx'' is endemic to the Eastern Cape in South Africa, from Gaika's Kop (near Hogsback, South Africa, Hogsback), and near Bedford, South Africa, Bedford. Description The wingspan is 32–34 mm for males and 32–37 mm for females. Adults are on wing from January to February. There is one generation per year. Ecology The larvae feed on the sole bamboo species in South Africa and Lesotho, ''Bergbambos''. References Heteropterinae Butterflies described in 1868 Butterflies of Africa Taxa named by Roland Trimen {{Hesperiidae-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roland Trimen
Roland Trimen Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (29 October 1840 in London – 25 July 1916 in London) was a British-South African Natural history, naturalist, best known for ''South African Butterflies'' (1887–89), a collaborative work with Colonel James Henry Bowker. He was among the first entomologists to investigate mimicry and Polymorphism (biology), polymorphism in butterflies and their restriction to females. He also collaborated with Charles Darwin to study the pollination of ''Disa (plant), Disa'' orchids. Life and career Trimen was born in London in 1840, the son of Richard and Mary Ann Esther Trimen and the older brother of the botanist Henry Trimen (1843-1896) who went to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). He went to study at Rottingdean and then at King's College School in Wimbledon. Trimen was interested in entomology but a chronic Larynx, laryngeal condition forced him to move to the Cape of Good Hope as a treatment. Reaching there he volunteered under Edgar Leopold ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Butterfly
Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossils have been dated to the Paleocene, about 56 million years ago, though molecular evidence suggests that they likely originated in the Cretaceous. Butterflies have a four-stage life cycle, and like other holometabolous insects they undergo complete metamorphosis. Winged adults lay eggs on the food plant on which their larvae, known as caterpillars, will feed. The caterpillars grow, sometimes very rapidly, and when fully developed, pupate in a chrysalis. When metamorphosis is complete, the pupal skin splits, the adult insect climbs out, expands its wings to dry, and flies off. Some butterflies, especially in the tropics, have several generations in a year, while others have a single generation, and a few in cold locations may take s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hesperiidae
Skippers are a group of butterflies placed in the family Hesperiidae within the order Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies). They were previously placed in a separate superfamily, Hesperioidea, but have since been placed in the superfamily Papilionoidea (the butterflies). They are named for their quick, darting flight habits. Most have their antenna tips modified into narrow, hook-like projections. Moreover, skippers mostly lack wing-coupling structure available in most moths. More than 3500 species of skippers are recognized, and they occur worldwide, but with the greatest diversity in the Neotropical regions of Central and South America.Ackery et al. (1999) Description and systematics Traditionally, the Hesperiidae were placed in a monotypic superfamily Hesperioidea, because they are morphologically distinct from other Rhopalocera (butterflies), which mostly belong to the typical butterfly superfamily Papilionoidea. The third and rather small butterfly superfamily is the moth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cape Of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, based on the misbelief that the Cape was the dividing point between the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic and Indian Ocean, Indian oceans. In fact, the southernmost point of Africa is Cape Agulhas about to the east-southeast. The currents of the two oceans meet at the point where the warm-water Agulhas current meets the cold-water Benguela current and turns back on itself. That oceanic meeting point fluctuates between Cape Agulhas and Cape Point (about east of the Cape of Good Hope). When following the western side of the African coastline from the equator, however, the Cape of Good Hope marks the point where a ship begins to travel more eastward than southward. Thus, the first modern rounding of the cape in 1487 by Portuguese discoveries, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lesotho
Lesotho, formally the Kingdom of Lesotho and formerly known as Basutoland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Entirely surrounded by South Africa, it is the largest of only three sovereign enclave and exclave, enclaves in the world, the others being San Marino and Vatican City, which are surrounded by Italy. Lesotho is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest peak in Southern Africa. It has an area of over and has a population of about 2.311 million. Its Capital city, capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho was formed in 1824 by Moshoeshoe I, King Moshoeshoe I. Continuous encroachments by Dutch settlers made the King enter into an agreement with the United Kingdom to become a protectorate in 1868 and, in 1884, a crown colony. History of Lesotho, It achieved independence in 1966, and was subsequently ruled by the Basotho National Party (BNP) for two decades. Its constitutional government was restored in 1993 after seven years o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and Natal Province. It is located in the southeast of the country, with a long shoreline on the Indian Ocean. It shares borders with three other provinces and the countries of Mozambique, Eswatini and Lesotho. Its capital is Pietermaritzburg, and its largest city is Durban, which is also the Port of Durban, city with the largest port in sub-saharan Africa. It is the second-most populous province in South Africa, after Gauteng. Two areas in KwaZulu-Natal have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park. These areas are important to the surrounding ecosystems. During the 1830s and early 1840s, the northern part of what is now KwaZulu-Natal was established as the Zulu Kingdom. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Cape
The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also known for having been home to many anti-apartheid activists, including Nelson Mandela. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after the Northern Cape, it was formed in 1994 out of the Xhosa people, Xhosa homelands or bantustans of Transkei and Ciskei, together with the eastern portion of the Cape Province. The central and eastern part of the province is the traditional home of the indigenous Xhosa people. In 1820 this area, which was known as the Xhosa Kingdom, began to be settled by Europeans who originally came from England, Scotland and Ireland. Eastern Cape is the only province in South Africa were the number of Black Africans declined from 86.6% to 85.7% since Apartheid ended in 1994. History The Eastern Cape p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hogsback, South Africa
Hogsback is a mountain retreat in the Amathole Mountains in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Name There are two (or maybe more) theories as how the village received its name. Some think it was named for Captain Hogg, Commander of Fort Michell. Others think that it is because one of the three peaks that overlook the village, when seen from a certain angle, resembles a Hog's Back (A hog's back is a geological term describing this particular rock formation). History The earliest known written reference to 'Hogsback' was found in the journal of the painter Thomas Baines, who passed the 'Hogs Back' while on his travels deeper inside South Africa in 1848. Besides the 'Hogsback', the highest peak in the area is the 1 954 m Gaika's Kop. The nearby Xhosa tribes called the surrounding area ''Qabimbola'' (meaning 'red clay on the face') as the surrounding clay was used for face painting. Gaika's Kop was one of the Xhosa strongholds. British troops were later stationed here ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bedford, South Africa
Bedford or Nyarha is a town in the centre of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It was established in the mid-19th century when Sir Andries Stockenstroom sold portions of land from his farm Maastroom to raise funds for the restoration of his library, which had been burnt by British soldiers mistrustful of his attempts to broker peace in one of the Cape Frontier Wars. The farm is still there and open for visitors. It is located on the southern edge of the Winterberg mountain range, in the ''Smaldeel'' (a narrow strip of grassland running laterally from Fort Beaufort to Somerset East Somerset East () (renamed KwaNojoli in 2023) is a town in the Blue Crane Route Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It was founded by Lord Charles Somerset in 1825. The Blue Crane Route follows the national road R63 (South Afri ..., renowned for its sweet grass). The town suffered a major decline in fortunes in the latter half of the 20th century before reviving itself arou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wingspan
The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird. The term wingspan, more technically 'extent' , is also used for other winged animals such as pterosaurs, bats, insects, etc., and other aircraft such as ornithopters. In humans, the term wingspan also refers to the arm span, which is the distance between the length from the end of an individual's arm (measured at the fingertips) to the individual's fingertips on the other arm when raised parallel to the ground at shoulder height. Wingspan of aircraft The wingspan of an aircraft is always measured in a straight line, from wingtip to wingtip, regardless of wing shape or sweep. Implications for aircraft design and animal evolution The lift from wings is proportional to their area, so the h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bergbambos
''Bergbambos'' ''tessellata'' is a bamboo native to the south-eastern highlands of South Africa and Lesotho. It is the sole species in the monotypic genus ''Bergbambos'', belonging to the family Poaceae. Its generic name means "bushy reed", while the specific name means "tiled", an allusion to the rectangular pattern of veins on the leaves. Its common names include mountain bamboo, drakensberg bamboo and ''bergbamboes'' and ''wildebamboes'' in Afrikaans. Distribution Bergbambos is found at an elevation of 1500-2000 metres in South Africa (in the Cape Provinces, Free State, and KwaZulu-Natal), Lesotho and Swaziland along mountain side streams. It is found in the Amathole Mountains, the Bamboesberg (for which it is named), and the Drakensberg. Bergbambos is one of two temperate bamboo species on the African mainland, and the only bamboo native to South Africa and Lesotho. Taxonomy Specimens of this plant were collected in the 1820s and 1830s by Ecklon in the Winterberg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
