Metisella syrinx
{{Short description|Species of butterfly}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Bamboo sylph
| image = SeitzFaunaAfricanaXIIITaf78.JPG
| image_caption = a
| status = VU
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| taxon = Metisella syrinx
| authority = (Trimen, 1868)[http://www.nic.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/hesperioidea/hesperiidae/heteropterinae/metisella/index.html Metisella] at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
| synonyms = *Cyclopides syrinx Trimen, 1868
}}
Metisella syrinx, the bamboo sylph or bamboes-walsertjie, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is a rare and highly localised species which is only known from South Africa in the eastern Cape, through southern Lesotho to the extreme south of KwaZulu-Natal. The habitat consists of rocky areas on the summits of mountains, in montane grassland.{{Cite web |url=http://atbutterflies.com/downloads/hesperiidae_heteropterinae.doc |title=Afrotropical Butterflies: Hesperiidae - Subfamily Heteropterinae |access-date=2012-11-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819083852/http://atbutterflies.com/downloads/hesperiidae_heteropterinae.doc |archive-date=2014-08-19 |url-status=dead }}
Distribution
M. syrinx is endemic to the Eastern Cape in South Africa, from Gaika's Kop (near Hogsback), and near Bedford.
Description
The wingspan is 32–34 mm for males and 32–37 mm for females. Adults are on wing from January to February. There is one generation per year.{{cite book|last=Woodhall |first=Steve |title=Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa |year=2005 |location=Cape Town, South Africa |publisher=Struik |isbn=978-1-86872-724-7 }}
Ecology
The larvae feed on the sole bamboo species in South Africa and Lesotho, Bergbambos.
References
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Category:Butterflies described in 1868
Category:Butterflies of Africa
Category:Taxa named by Roland Trimen
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