Spialia diomus, the common sandman or Diomus grizzled skipper, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found in tropical Africa and south-western Arabia.
| Spialia diomus | |
|---|---|
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| Female, figure 6 | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Hesperiidae |
| Genus: | Spialia |
| Species: | S. diomus
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| Binomial name | |
| Spialia diomus | |
| Synonyms | |
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The wingspan is 27–31 mm for males and 29–33 mm for females. Adults are on wing year-round in warmer areas. In South Africa it is more common in warmer months. In cooler areas adults are on wing from August to April.[2]
The larvae feed on Hibiscus (including Hibiscus aethiopicus), Sida, Pavonia (including Pavonia burchellii), Waltheria and Hermannia species (including Hermannia diffusa, Hermannia incana, Hermannia comosa, Hermannia depressa and Hermannia cuneifolia).
Subspecies
edit- Spialia diomus diomus (Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Yemen)
- Spialia diomus ferax (Wallengren, 1863) (Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Lesotho)
References
edit- ^ Spialia 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.
Media related to Spialia diomus at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Spialia diomus at Wikispecies
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