Cacyreus tespis

Water bronze
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Lycaenidae
Genus:	Cacyreus
Species:	C. tespis
Binomial name
	Cacyreus tespis; (Herbst, 1804)
Synonyms
	Papilio tespis Herbst, 1804; Papilio palemon Stoll, 1782; Cupido palemon var. fracta Grünberg, 1911; Cacyreus palemon f. ecaudata Stempffer, 1950; Cacyreus palemon ghimirra Talbot, 1935;

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Cacyreus tespis, the water bronze or water blue, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found from South Africa to Ethiopia.

The wingspan is 15–25 mm for males and 17–25 mm for females. Adults are on wing year-round in warmer areas, but usually from August to May. At higher altitudes adults are on wing in December and January.^[2]

The larvae feed on the buds and green seeds of Geranium and Pelargonium species.

Subspecies

Cacyreus tespis tespis – Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo: Kivu and Maniema, Rwanda, Burundi, Zambia, Mozambique, eastern Zimbabwe, Eswatini, Lesotho, South Africa: Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West, Gauteng, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Western Cape and Northern Cape provinces
Cacyreus tespis ghimirra Talbot, 1935 – highlands of Ethiopia

References

^ Cacyreus at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
^ Woodhall, Steve (2005). Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN 978-1-86872-724-7.

Seitz, A. Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 73

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[1] Cacyreus at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms

[2] Woodhall, Steve (2005). Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN 978-1-86872-724-7.

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