Parosmodes morantii

Parosmodes morantii, the Morant's skipper or Morant's orange, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found in KwaZulu-Natal, Eswatini, Mozambique, Botswana, Zimbabwe and from western Kenya to Ghana.

The wingspan is 28–31 mm for males and 33–35 mm for females. Adults are on wing from July to early October and from December to May in a stronger summer brood (with a peak from February to March). There are two generations per year.

The larvae feed on Combretum species (including Combretum queinzii and Combretum molle), Bridelia species (including Bridelia micrantha), Quisqualis, Terminalia and Syzygium cordatum.

Subspecies

• Parosmodes morantii morantii — coast of Kenya, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo: Shaba, Angola, Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Eswatini, South Africa: Limpopo Province, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal
• Parosmodes morantii axis <small>Evans, 1937</small> — Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, northern Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, western Kenya, western Tanzania

References