About Spindasis ella (Hewitson, 1865)
Cigaritis ella (also classified as Spindasis ella), commonly known as Ella's bar, is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. This butterfly is distributed from South Africa up to the coast of eastern Kenya. Within South Africa, it occurs from the Eastern Cape along the coast to KwaZulu-Natal, and extends inland to Eswatini, the Free State, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, Limpopo, North West, and Northern Cape provinces. Males of this species have a wingspan of 21 to 24 mm, while females have a larger wingspan ranging from 25 to 30 mm. Adult Cigaritis ella are active year-round, with population peaks occurring from August to October and from March to July. The larvae of this butterfly feed on Ximenia afra, and hide in crevices and under the bark of their host plant.
