Dira jansei

Dira jansei
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Tribe: Satyrini
Genus: Dira
Species: D. jansei
Binomial name
Dira jansei
(Swierstra, 1911)
Synonyms
  • Leptoneura jansei Swierstra, 1911[1]

Janse’s Widow (Dira jansei) is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family. It is found on wooded hillsides in the savanna/grassland ecotone in the Limpopo Provinces Strydpoortberg and Drakensberg and from the Makapans Cave to Mariepskop.

The wingspan is 48–55 mm for males and 52–58 mm for females. Adults are on wing from late February to mid March. There is one generation per year[2]

The larvae feed on various Poaceae species, including Ehrharta erecta and Pennisetum clandestinum.

References

  1. Dira, Site of Markku Savela
  2. Woodhall, S. Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa, Cape Town:Struik Publishers, 2005.
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