Dira clytus, the Cape autumn widow, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in South Africa.[1]
| Cape autumn widow | |
|---|---|
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| D. clytus depicted in Seitz's Fauna Africana | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Nymphalidae |
| Genus: | Dira |
| Species: | D. clytus
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| Binomial name | |
| Dira clytus (Linnaeus, 1764)
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Range of D. clytus in southernmost South Africa
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| Synonyms | |
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The wingspan is 45–55 mm. Adults of ssp. clytus are on wing from late February to April and of ssp. eurina from late February to late March. There is one generation per year.[2]
The larvae feed on various Poaceae species, including Ehrharta erecta, Pennisetum clandestinum, Stipa dregeana, Panicum deustrum, Stenotaphrum glabrum and Stenotaphrum secundatum.
Subspecies
edit- Dira clytus clytus — south-western Cape
- Dira clytus eurina Quickelberge, 1978 — southern Cape
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dira clytus.
Wikispecies has information related to Dira clytus.
- ^ Dira 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.