Metisella meninx, the marsh sylph, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is endemic to the wet vleis (shallow lakes) of highland grassland in northern KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, the northern part of the Free State and the extreme east of the North West Province. It has become extinct in many areas close to Johannesburg due to building developments.

Marsh sylph
a
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Hesperiidae
Genus: Metisella
Species:
M. meninx
Binomial name
Metisella meninx
(Trimen, 1873)[1]
Synonyms
  • Cyclopides meninx Trimen, 1873
  • Thymelicus meninx
  • Cyclopides argentiostriatus Plötz, 1886

The larvae feed on Poaceae marsh grass species, including Leersia hexandra.

References

edit
  1. ^ Metisella at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms