Moltena fiara

Moltena fiara
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Hesperiidae
Genus: Moltena
Species: M. fiara
Binomial name
Moltena fiara
(Butler, 1870)[1]
Synonyms
  • Proteides fiara Butler, 1870
  • Hesperia natalica Plötz, 1882

The Strelitzia Night-fighter or Banana-tree Night-fighter (Moltena fiara) is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family. It is found in coastal lowland and riverine forest from the East Cape along the KwaZulu-Natal coast to Maputaland and north to Maputo in Mozambique.

The wingspan is 54–57 mm for males and 58–64 mm for females. Adults are on wing from August to October and from February to April. There are two generations per year.[2]

The larvae feed on Strelitzia nicolai, first instars are bright red with a black head, and use silk to form a shelter by sticking leaves together.[3]

External links

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Moltena fiara.
Wikispecies has information related to: Moltena fiara
  1. Moltena, Site of Markku Savela
  2. Woodhall, S. Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa, Cape Town: Struik Publishers, 2005.
  3. Images