Gegenes niso
The Common Hottentot Skipper is a small (3cm wingspan) but lively butterfly, flying fast over short distances (hence the “skipper” name) and often coming to rest for short periods on flowers or grass stems and at mud puddles. They occur in grasslands and grassy patches in a wide range of other habitats, from the Western Cape through the Eastern Cape, Kwazulu-Natal and the Free State to Limpopo Province, and throughout most of the rest of sub-Saharan Africa. Males are territorial and fiercely aggressive to other males venturing into their space. Females lay single eggs on a wide variety of grasses, which the larvae uses as food. Adults can be seen right through the year.
Common Hottentot Skipper (male)
Common Hottentot Skipper (male)
Common Hottentot Skipper (male)
Common Hottentot Skipper (males)
Common Hottentot Skipper (male)
Common Hottentot Skipper (female)
Common Hottentot Skipper (female)
Common Hottentot Skipper (female)
DeWetsWild 
I like Skippers… they really have character!
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They have to be real characters because they don’t have the looks to compete on that score
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Aggressive butterflies! Oh my!
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I love skippers!
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I do too Kathy – when they come equipped with wings. When they come with a sweatband around the head and a long rope, they better move along quickly! 😀
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So basically in a second they’re a hot, skip, and a jump away? 🙂
janet
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Quite literally yes, Janet! 😀
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Thanks for the photos of these fast-flying skippers. I find the various skippers hard to identify, but they have a certain cuteness about them don’t they!
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They do, Carol, and such spunky attitudes too!
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May have “common” in it’s name, but it is very pretty 😊
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I think far too many beautiful animals carry that horrible moniker of “common”
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I agree.
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I agree with Anne – I am learning quite a bit about butterflies thank you! Often try to photograph them when on the mountain but some of them are just too fast. This must be one of the many ‘ones that got away’.
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As I am learning so much about our wildflower treasures from you it is a pleasure to repay the favour!
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You are teaching me a lot about butterflies while I wait for my guide in book form to come through after lockdown!
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It is my pleasure, Anne, and once that book arrives I’m sure you’ll be as blown away by our unknown wealth of butterflies as I was.
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All fragile folk are dear to my heart.
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