Sarangesa thecla, also known as the common elfin, is a species of butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. It is found in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.[2] The habitat consists of dry semi-deciduous forests.

Common elfin
S. t. thecla in Ghana
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Hesperiidae
Genus: Sarangesa
Species:
S. thecla
Binomial name
Sarangesa thecla
(Plötz, 1879)[1]
Synonyms
  • Antigonus thecla Plötz, 1879
  • Sape semialba Mabille, 1891

Adults of both sexes are attracted to flowers and males are also attracted to bird droppings.

Subspecies

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  • Sarangesa thecla thecla - western Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo
  • Sarangesa thecla mabira Evans, 1956 - eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, western Kenya, north-western Tanzania

References

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