Geranium Bronze Butterfly - Cacyreus marshalli

Phylum: Arthropoda - Class: Insecta - Order: Lepidoptera - Family: Lycaenidae

Above: a Geranium Bronze

The Geranium Bronze is a South African species that has been introduced to some parts of Europe. It was first recorded in Britain (in recent times, at least) in 1997. The picure shown above was taken in Corfu.

Description

The upper wings are bronze brown with a white border, while the undersides of the wings are a complex pattern of white bands and various shades of greyish brown. Males and females are very similar and difficult to separate at a distance. Wingspan ranges from 18 to 23 mm, and there are two short tails. The underwing pattern suggests an eye spot, which may serve as a deterrent to predators.

Habitat

The main larval foodplants of the Geranium Bronze are pelargoniums and geraniums, but in Italy it is reported that they also feed on Mexican Fleabane Erigeron karvinskianus.

Distribution

In Britain the Geranium Bronze is an adventitious butterfly, arriving as either eggs or larvae on imported Pelargonium plants (which most people refer to as 'geraniums'). Their native range is South Africa, but they have been introduced, almost certainly by accident, to many central and eastern European countries.

Etymology

The specific epithet marshalli honours the Indian-born British entomologist Sir Guy Anstruther Knox Marshall (1871 - 1959) who first described this species scientifically in 1897.

Acknowledgements

This page includes pictures kindly contributed by Betty and Tony Rackham.

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