Welcome to March’s newsletter!

Following good mid-summer rainfall over much of South Africa, butterfly numbers have increased dramatically. A large dispersal of Pioneer Caper White (Belenois aurota) – frequently flying with other “migrating” species - has added to the spectacle.There is lots of news this month, including the registration of a servitude to protect the type-locality of the critically endangered Wolkberg Zulu (Alaena margaritacea). There have also been an unprecedented number of trip reports – thanks to everyone concerned.

Thirty-three species of Opogona Zeller, 1853 are known from St Helena, a remote island in the South Atlantic Ocean. Thirty-one of these species are endemic, showing the important radiation within this genus, unique to this island in the Atlantic Ocean. Comprehensive field work in 2017 and 2018 led to the discovery of further unknown species. The most distinctive are described in this paper: O. pallidimargo sp. nov., O. duttonae sp. nov., O. barnensis sp. nov., O. cairnswickseorum sp. nov., O. fowlerella sp. nov., O. gigantea sp. nov., O. keyorum sp. nov., O. beardae sp. nov. This increases the number of species of Opogona on St Helena to forty-one. Illustrations of adults, genitalia and habitats are given.

Pseudambia gen. nov. is described from Africa for the species Ambia albomaculalis Hampson,1897 comb. nov. together with three new species: Pseudambia kingstoni, P. manicensis and P. stellata.

A new Lycaenidae species of the genus Iridana Aurivillius, 1920 is described from Ghana, Iridana maesseni sp. nov. It is the seventh species of the “hypocala group”. Genetic and morphological evidence are used to delineate the new species.