Capys alphaeus, the protea scarlet or orange-banded protea, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in South Africa.
| Capys alphaeus | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Lycaenidae |
| Genus: | Capys |
| Species: | C. alphaeus
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| Binomial name | |
| Capys alphaeus | |
| Synonyms | |
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The wingspan is 31–40 mm for males and 32–47 mm for females. Adults are on wing from August to November and from February to April in two main generations.[2]
The larvae feed on the flower buds of various Protea species, including P. cynaroides, P. roupelliae, P. subvestita, P. repens and P. grandiceps.
Subspecies
edit- Capys alphaeus alphaeus (from the Cape Peninsula to the Kouebokkeveld Mountains and southern Namaqualand, the Western Cape and then to the Eastern Cape)
- Capys alphaeus extentus Quickelberge, 1979 (from the Eastern Cape along the mountains to the eastern part of the Free State and the KwaZulu-Natal Drakensberg, Eswatini, Mpumalanga and Limpopo)
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Capys alpheus.
Wikispecies has information related to Capys alphaeus.
- ^ "Capys Hewitson, 1865" at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
- ^ Woodhall, Steve (2005). Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN 978-1-86872-724-7.
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