Coeliades forestan

Coeliades forestan, the striped policeman, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found from Transkei to Zimbabwe and to Botswana. It is also present on Madagascar and Mauritius.^[2]

Striped policeman
Coeliades forestan forestan, Botswana
Coeliades forestan arbogastes, Madagascar
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Hesperiidae
Genus:	Coeliades
Species:	C. forestan
Binomial name
Coeliades forestan (Stoll, [1782])[1]
Synonyms
Papilio forestan Stoll, [1782] Thymele arbogastes Guenee, 1863 Coeliades arbogastes Hesperia margarita Butler, 1879

The wingspan is 45–55 mm for males and 55–64 mm for females. Adults are on wing year-round in warmer areas with peaks September to April.^[3]

The larvae feed on a wide range of plants, including Parinari curatellifolia, Lonchocarpus capassa, Combretum bracteosum, Combretum apiculatum, Solanum auriculatum, Solanum mauritianum, Millettia sutherlandii, Sphedamnocarpus rhamni, Sphedamnocarpus pruriens and Robinia pseudacacia.

Subspecies

• Coeliades forestan forestan (Sub-Saharan Africa)
• Coeliades forestan arbogastes (Guenee, 1863) (Madagascar & Mauritius)

Stamps

The Republic of Chad has issued a stamp showing a Coeliades forestan in 2003.^[4]