''Coeliades ernesti'' is a

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 fossi ...

in the family

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 Papilion ...

. This species originates from

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

but was also introduced to

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

and

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

(1980). Their habitat consists of forests, secondary forests and anthropogenic areas. They have a wingspan of around 56 mm. A known host plant of their larvae is a

Malpighiaceae Malpighiaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales. It comprises about 73 genera and 1315 species, all of which are native to the tropics and subtropics. About 80% of the genera and 90% of the species occur in the New World ( ...

, '' Hiptage benghalensis''.Martiré & Rochat, 2008, ''Les Papillons de la Réunion & leurs chenilles'', ISBN Biotope 978-2-914817-07-3 page 192

References

External links

Insecte.org: pictures of ''Coeliades ernesti''
Butterflies described in 1867 Coeliadinae Butterflies of Africa Taxa named by Alfred Grandidier {{Hesperiidae-stub