Ypthima impura
| Ypthima impura | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Nymphalidae |
| Genus: | Ypthima |
| Species: | Y. impura
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| Binomial name | |
| Ypthima impura | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Ypthima impura, the impure ringlet (known in Afrikaans as the vuil-ringetjie), is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in most of Sub-Saharan Africa.
The wingspan is 32–36 mm for males and 34–38 mm for females. It is close to Ypthima doletaThe wings above brown; both wings with a narrow dark submarginal band and a double dark marginal line; eye-spot area of the forewing subelliptical, sharply defined distally; hindwing above with an eye-spot in cellule 2 and sometimes 1 or 2 in cellule 1 c, the area round them not defined, beneath with three eye-spots, a double one in 1 c and one eachin 2 and 6.[2]
Adults are on wing year round with peak in early summer and autumn in southern Africa.[3] The butterfly usually has three ocelli on the underside of their hindwing, although these may not appear during the dry season.[4]
The larvae feed on Poaceae grasses. Larvae have also been reared on Ehrharta erecta.[5] Females are usually more sedentary than males, with stouter abdomens.[6]
Subspecies
[edit]The species may be divided into the following subspecies:
- Ypthima impura impura (Ivory Coast to Nigeria, Cameroon, Zaire, Angola)[7]
- Ypthima impura paupera Ungemach, 1932 -Bushveld ringlet (Ethiopia, from eastern Africa to Transvaal and KwaZulu-Natal)[7]
References
[edit]
- ^ "Ypthima Hübner, 1818" at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
- ^ Aurivillius, [P.O.]C. 1908-1924. In: Seitz, A. Die Großschmetterlinge der Erde Band 13: Abt. 2, Die exotischen Großschmetterlinge, Die afrikanischen Tagfalter, 1925, 613 Seiten, 80 Tafeln
(The Macrolepidoptera of the World 13).Alfred Kernen Verlag, Stuttgart.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Woodhall, Steve (2005). Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN 978-1-86872-724-7.
- ^ Subtribe Ypthima
- ^ Swaziland National Trust Commission Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Willis, C. and S. Woodhall. Butterflies of South Africa's National Botanical Gardens. SANBI Biodiversity Series 16, 2010.
- ^ a b Afrotropical Butterflies: File E – Nymphalidae - Subtribe Ypthimina
