About Spialia spio (Linnaeus, 1764)
Spialia spio, commonly known as the mountain sandman or Spio grizzled skipper, is a butterfly species belonging to the family Hesperiidae. This species is distributed across tropical Africa, south-western Arabia, and eastern South Africa. Males have a wingspan ranging from 22 to 29 mm, while females have a larger wingspan of 28 to 31 mm. In warmer regions, adult butterflies are active year-round; they are more commonly encountered during warmer months in South Africa, and in cooler areas adults are only active from August to April. The larvae of Spialia spio feed on a range of plant species: these include Lavatera arborea, multiple Hibiscus species (Hibiscus aethiopicus, Hibiscus gossypinus, and Hibiscus pusillus), Sida, multiple Pavonia species (Pavonia burchellii, Pavonia macrophylla, and Pavonia columella), Triumfetta, and multiple Hermannia species (Hermannia diffusa, Hermannia incana, Hermannia comosa, Hermannia coccocarpa, Hermannia candicans, Hermannia pilosula, Hermannia pallius, Hermannia pollens, and Hermannia cuneifolia).
