Capys alpheus

Capys alpheus, the protea scarlet or orange-banded protea, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in South Africa.

Capys alpheus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Lycaenidae
Genus:	Capys
Species:	C. alpheus
Binomial name
Capys alpheus (Cramer, [1777])[1]
Synonyms
Papilio alpheus Cramer, [1777]

The wingspan is 31–40 mm for males and 32–47 mm for females. Adults are on wing from August to November and from February to April in two main generations.^[2]

The larvae feed on the flower buds of various Protea species, including P. cynaroides, P. roupelliae, P. subvestita, P. repens and P. grandiceps.

Subspecies

• Capys alpheus alpheus (South Africa, from the Cape Peninsula to the Kouebokkeveld Mountains and southern Namaqualand, the Western Cape and then to the Eastern Cape)
• Capys alpheus extentus Quickelberge, 1979 (South Africa, from the Eastern Cape along the mountains to the eastern part of the Free State and the KwaZulu-Natal Drakensberg, Eswatini, Mpumalanga and Limpopo)