Apallaga mokeezi

"Large sprite" redirects here. For the other moth with this common name, see Apallaga rutilans.

Apallaga mokeezi, also known as the large sprite, large flat or Christmas forester, is a species of butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. It is found in South Africa (from Transkei to KwaZulu-Natal and Transvaal) and Mozambique. The habitat consists coastal forests and montane forests.^[2]

Apallaga mokeezi
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Hesperiidae
Genus:	Apallaga
Species:	A. mokeezi
Binomial name
Apallaga mokeezi (Wallengren, 1857)[1]
Synonyms
Pterygospidea mokeezi Wallengren, 1857 Apallaga separata Strand, 1911 Hesperia amaponda Trimen, 1862 Celaenorrhinus mokeezi (Wallengren, 1857)

The wingspan is 40–48 mm for males and 45–51 mm for females. Adults are on wing year-round in warmer areas with peaks in late summer and autumn.^[3]

The larvae feed on Isoglossa woodii (buckweed).

Subspecies

• Apallaga mokeezi mokeezi - South Africa: from eastern Cape to the southern KwaZulu-Natal coast and midlands
• Apallaga mokeezi separata (Strand, 1911) - southern Mozambique, Eswatini, South Africa: Limpopo Province, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal