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Poecilmitis Swanepoeli
''Chrysoritis swanepoeli'', the Swanepoel's opal, is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is endemic to South Africa, where it is found in the Swartberg Pass and Schoemanskloof, the Groot Swartberg, the Huis River Pass and Gamkaskloof in the Western Cape. The wingspan is 23–26 mm for males and 24–34 mm for females. Adults are on wing from October to January. There is one extended generation per year. The larvae feed on '' Thesium'' species and '' Tylecodon paniculata''. They are attended to by ''Crematogaster ''Crematogaster'' is an ecologically diverse genus of ants found worldwide, which are characterised by a distinctive heart-shaped gaster (insect anatomy), gaster (abdomen), which gives them one of their common names, the Saint Valentine ant. Mem ... liengmei'' ants. Subspecies The subspecies ''Chrysoritis swanepoeli hyperion'' was formerly considered a species, ''Chrysoritis hyperion''. Research in 2023 showed subspecies ''swanepoeli'' ... [...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] |
Thesium
''Thesium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Santalaceae. It is particularly well represented in South Africa. The following species are recognised by ''The Plant List The Plant List was a list of botanical names of species of plants created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Missouri Botanical Garden and launched in 2010. It was intended to be a comprehensive record of all known names of plant specie ...'': *'' Thesium acuminatum'' A.W. Hill *'' Thesium acutissimum'' A. DC. *'' Thesium aellenianum'' Lawalrée *''Thesium affine'' Schltr. *''Thesium aggregatum'' A.W. Hill *''Thesium alatum'' Hilliard & B.L. Burtt *''Thesium albomontanum'' Compton *''Thesium alpinum'' L. *''Thesium amicorum'' Lawalrée *''Thesium andongense'' Hiern *''Thesium angolense'' Pilg. *''Thesium angulosum'' DC. *''Thesium annulatum'' A.W. Hill *''Thesium annuum'' Lawalrée *''Thesium aphyllum'' Mart. ''ex'' A. DC. *''Thesium archeri'' Compton *''Thesium arvense'' Horv. *''Thesium a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemic Butterflies Of South Africa
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, the Cape sugarbird is found exclusively in southwestern South Africa and is therefore said to be ''endemic'' to that particular part of the world. An endemic species can also be referred to as an ''endemism'' or, in scientific literature, as an ''endemite''. Similarly, many species found in the Western ghats of India are examples of endemism. Endemism is an important concept in conservation biology for measuring biodiversity in a particular place and evaluating the risk of extinction for species. Endemism is also of interest in evolutionary biology, because it provides clues about how changes in the environment cause species to undergo range shifts (potentially expanding their range into a larger area or becomin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Butterflies Described In 1965
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chrysoritis
''Chrysoritis'', commonly called opals or coppers, is a genus of butterflies in the family Lycaenidae Lycaenidae is the second-largest family (biology), family of butterflies (behind Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflies), with over 6,000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies. They constitute about 30% of ... found mainly in southern Africa and particularly South Africa. Species Species of the genus include: at Markku Savela's ''Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms'' The ''chrysaor'' species group: * '' Chrysoritis aethon'' (Trimen, 1887) – Lydenburg opal * '' [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crematogaster Liengmei
''Crematogaster'' is an ecologically diverse genus of ants found worldwide, which are characterised by a distinctive heart-shaped gaster (abdomen), which gives them one of their common names, the Saint Valentine ant. Members of this genus are also known as cocktail ants because of their habit of raising their abdomens when alarmed. Most species are arboreal (tree-dwelling). These ants are also known as acrobat ants. Cocktail ants acquire food largely through predation on other insects, such as wasps.Schatz, Bertrand, and Martine Hossaert-Mckey. "Interactions of the Ant Crematogaster Scutellaris with the Fig/fig Wasp Mutualism." Ecological Entomology 28.3 (2003): 359-68. Print. They use venom to stun their prey and a complex trail-laying process to lead comrades to food sources. Like most ants, ''Crematogaster'' species reproduce by partaking in nuptial flights, where the queen acquires the sperm used to fertilize every egg throughout her life. Predatory behavior Cocktail ants h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crematogaster
''Crematogaster'' is an ecologically diverse genus of ants found worldwide, which are characterised by a distinctive heart-shaped gaster (insect anatomy), gaster (abdomen), which gives them one of their common names, the Saint Valentine ant. Members of this genus are also known as cocktail ants because of their habit of raising their abdomens when alarmed. Most species are arboreal (tree-dwelling). These ants are also known as acrobat ants. Cocktail ants acquire food largely through predation on other insects, such as wasps.Schatz, Bertrand, and Martine Hossaert-Mckey. "Interactions of the Ant Crematogaster Scutellaris with the Fig/fig Wasp Mutualism." Ecological Entomology 28.3 (2003): 359-68. Print. They use venom to stun their prey and a complex trail-laying process to lead comrades to food sources. Like most ants, ''Crematogaster'' species reproduce by partaking in nuptial flights, where the queen acquires the sperm used to fertilize every egg throughout her life. Predatory ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tylecodon Paniculata
''Tylecodon'' is a genus of succulent plants in the family Crassulaceae, native to southern Africa. Until the late 1970s all these plants were included in the genus ''Cotyledon'', but in 1978 Helmut Toelken of the Botanical Research Institute, Pretoria, split them off into a genus of their own. Description and taxonomy The grounds for splitting ''Cotyledon'' to create the new genus included certain features of the flowers, but more conspicuously, the leaves of ''Tylecodon'' are deciduous in summer and they are borne in a spiral arrangement, rather than the opposite, decussate arrangement of ''Cotyledon'' leaves. The species are very varied, ranging from dwarf succulents such as '' Tylecodon reticulatus'' to '' Tylecodon paniculatus'', which may exceed two metres in height. The new name ''Tylecodon'' was apparently chosen as a syllabic anagram of the earlier name ''Cotyledon''. Pharmacology and toxicology ''Tylecodon'' species are poisonous. Some of them are sufficientl ... [...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] |
Lycaenidae
Lycaenidae is the second-largest family (biology), family of butterflies (behind Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflies), with over 6,000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies. They constitute about 30% of the known butterfly species. The family comprises seven subfamilies, including the blues (Polyommatinae), the coppers (Lycaeninae), the hairstreaks (Theclinae), and the harvesters (Miletinae). Description, food, and life cycle Adults are small, under 5 cm usually, and brightly coloured, sometimes with a metallic gloss. Lycaenidae wings are generally blue or green. More than half of these butterflies depend on ants in some way. Larvae are often flattened rather than cylindrical, with glands that may produce secretions that attract and subdue ants. Their cuticles tend to be thickened. Some larvae are capable of producing vibrations and low sounds that are transmitted through the substrates they inhabit. They use these sounds to commun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Cape
The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the List of South African provinces by area, fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and List of South African provinces by population, the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020. About two-thirds of these inhabitants live in the metropolitan area of Cape Town, which is also the provincial capital. The Western Cape was created in 1994 from part of the former Cape Province. The two largest cities are Cape Town and George, Western Cape, George. Geography The Western Cape is roughly L-shaped, extending north and east from the Cape of Good Hope, in the southwestern corner of South Africa. It stretches about northwards along the Atlantic coast and about eastwards along the South African south coast (Southern Indian Ocean). It is bordered on the north by the Northern Cape and on the east by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gamkaskloof
The Gamkaskloof (), also known as ''Die Hel'' (; ), is a narrow, isolated valley about 20 kilometres (12.4 miles) long and a maximum of 600 metres (656 yards) wide. The valley is located in the Swartberg mountain range, which is part of the Garden Route District Municipality, Western Cape Province, South Africa. History ''Gamkaskloof'' is a Hybrid word, hybrid name, combining ''Gamka'' (the Khoisan word for Lion), and ''Kloof'' (the Afrikaans word for valley). The Gamkaskloof was discovered in the early 19th century by farmers, but the first permanent resident was Pieter Swanepoel, who settled in the valley in the 1830s. Some time later, the Marais, Cordier and Joubert Nel Mostert families settled in the valley, growing to a community of around 160 people. The residents used donkeys and travelled by foot across the Swartberg mountains to reach Prince Albert, Western Cape, Prince Albert and Calitzdorp. Later, a school was established, with the teacher also leading the Sund ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
