Cigaritis mozambica, the Mozambique bar or Mozambique silverline, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in tropical Africa. In South Africa it is found from the coast of KwaZulu-Natal to the Drakensberg, then to Eswatini, the Free State, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and North West provinces.

Mozambique bar
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Lycaenidae
Genus: Cigaritis
Species:
C. mozambica
Binomial name
Cigaritis mozambica
(Bertolini, 1850)[1]
Synonyms
  • Thecla etolus var. mozambica Bertolini, 1850
  • Spindasis mozambica
  • Aphnaeus caffer Trimen, 1868

The wingspan is 22–25 mm for males and 25–28 mm for females. Adults are on wing year-round with peaks in late summer.[2]

The larvae feed on Sphenostylis angustifolia. They are associated with ants of the genus Crematogaster.

References

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  1. ^ Cigaritis at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
  2. ^ Woodhall, Steve (2005). Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. p. 184. ISBN 978-1-86872-724-7. OCLC 958561486.
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