Spialia mafa
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Mafa sandman | |
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In Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Family: | Hesperiidae |
Genus: | Spialia |
Species: | S. mafa
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Binomial name | |
Spialia mafa | |
Synonyms | |
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Spialia mafa, the Mafa grizzled skipper or Mafa sandman, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found in south-western Africa, in KwaZulu-Natal, Botswana, Zimbabwe and from the Cape in South Africa to Sudan and southern Arabia.
These skippers are dark brown with white spots and both sides of the wings.[2]
Wingspan is from 22–26 mm.[2]
Flight period is year-round but peaks from September to April.[2]
The larvae feed on Hermannia, Pavonia and Hibiscus species (including Hibiscus aethiopicus).
Subspecies
- Spialia mafa mafa (southern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, southern and south-eastern Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, central and northern Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Lesotho)
- Spialia mafa higginsi Evans, 1937 (Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, south-western Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman)
References
External links
Media related to Spialia mafa at Wikimedia CommonsError: "Q7576869" is not a valid Wikidata entity ID.
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- Spialia
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- Butterflies of Africa
- Taxa named by Roland Trimen
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