Metisella meninx

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Marsh sylph
Marsh Sylph - South Africa 358134598.jpg
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Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Hesperiidae
Genus: Metisella
Species:
M. meninx
Binomial name
Metisella meninx
(Trimen, 1873) [1]
Synonyms
  • Cyclopides meninxTrimen, 1873
  • Thymelicus meninx
  • Cyclopides argentiostriatusPlötz, 1886

Metisella meninx, the marsh sylph, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is endemic to the wet vleis (shallow lakes) of highland grassland in northern KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, the northern part of the Free State and the extreme east of the North West Province. It has become extinct in many areas close to Johannesburg due to building developments.

The larvae feed on Poaceae marsh grass species, including Leersia hexandra .

References

  1. Metisella at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms