Thestor protumnus

Boland skolly


Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Lycaenidae
Genus:	Thestor
Species:	T. protumnus
Binomial name
*Thestor protumnus* (Linnaeus, 1764)^[1]
Synonyms
Papilio protumnus Linnaeus, 1764 Papilio petalus Cramer, [1779] Thestor protumnus mijburghi Dickson & Wykeham, 1994 Thestor terblanchei Henning & Henning, 1993 Papilio silvius Fabricius, 1787

Thestor protumnus, the Boland skolly, is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is only found in South Africa.

The wingspan is 22-37.5 mm for males and 24-42.5 mm for females. Adults are on wing from September to December and August to October in Namaqualand. Subspecies terblanchei is on wing from January to March. The peak flight times vary per locality.^[2]

The larvae feed on coccids (scale insects).

Subspecies

Thestor protumnus protumnus – Cape Peninsula, south-western Cape
Thestor protumnus aridus van Son, 1941 – Cape, Free State
Thestor protumnus terblanchei Henning & Henning, 1993 – Free State

T. p. subsp. aridus, the desert Boland skolly

References

↑ Thestor at Markku Savela's website on Lepidoptera
↑ Woodhall, S. Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa, Cape Town: Struik Publishers, 2005.

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