| Geranium Bronze (Cacyreus marshalli (Butler 1898)) |
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Scientific name: Cacyreus marshalli (Butler 1898) Common name: Geranium Bronze French name: Brun des pélargoniums, Lycène des géraniums Order: Lepidoptera Suborder: Rhopalocera Family: Lycaenidae Subfamily: Polyommatinae Wingspan: 15 to 23 mm for males; 18 to 27 mm for females. Biotope: Open areas, inhabited areas. Geographic area: Southern part of Africa (South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe), introduced to the Balearic Islands, to southern Spain, to France and to Belgium. Its range quickly extends northwards. Flight time: March to October. Number of generations : 3 or more (up to 6 broods observed in the Balearic Islands). Caterpillar: Green and then yellowish or violet, hairy with longitudinal pink-violet lines. Host plant: Pelargonium, Geranium |
The upper side of the wings is brown with a thin white dotted outer border. The underside of the wings is brown with irregular white marks. The hind wings bear a small tail with a black spot at its base. The Geranium Bronze is considered as a pest because of the damages it causes to the flower plantations. Unlike in its initial African range, it has no predators in Europe. |
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Though this butterfly was quietly landed inside vegetation, I have not been able to shoot a sharp picture. |
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Here is my second observation of a Geranium Bronze, and this is again during a stay on the Mediterranean coast. |
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We move more than 500 km northwards as we are here in my garden in the Paris region. |
André Bon November 2014