Bematistes epaea

Bematistes epaea, the common bematistes, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, the Republic of the Congo, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi and Zambia.[2] The habitat consists of forests and dense Guinea savanna.

Common bematistes
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Bematistes
Species:
B. epaea
Binomial name
Bematistes epaea
(Cramer, 1779)[1]
Synonyms
  • Papilio epaea Cramer, 1779
  • Acraea epaea (Cramer, 1779)
  • Acraea (Acraea) epaea
  • Papilio gea Fabricius, 1781
  • Planema epaea ab. sublutosa Strand, 1914
  • Planema epaea ab. angustifasciata Grünberg, 1910
  • Planema epaea bicolorata Le Doux, 1937
  • Planema epaea f. insolita Le Doux, 1937
  • Planema epaea f. aurata Le Doux, 1937
  • Planema epaea nigrita Le Doux, 1937
  • Acraea epitellus Staudinger, 1896
  • Planema epaea homochroa Rothschild & Jordan, 1905
  • Acraea epaea insulana Ackery, 1995
  • Planema epaea var. insularis Aurivillius, 1910
  • Planema epaea kivuana Jordan, 1910
  • Planema epaea lutosa Suffert, 1904
  • Planema epaea f. cremea Le Doux, 1937
  • Planema epaea var. melina Thurau, 1903
  • Planema paragea Grose-Smith, 1900 may be a full species

Both sexes are mimicked by Elymniopsis bammakoo, Pseudacraea eurytus and Mimacraea darwinia, while the female is also the model for the female of Papilio cynorta. Acraea jodutta is probably a co-mimic.

The larvae feed on Lindaeckeria schweinfurthii, Lindaeckeria dentata and Adenia cisampelloides.

Subspecies
  • B. e. epaea (Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Congo, Angola, western Democratic Republic of the Congo, north-western Tanzania, Zambia)
  • B. e. angustifasciata d'Abrera, 1980 (central and southern Uganda, western Kenya)
  • B. e. bicolorata (Le Doux, 1937) (south-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo)
  • B. e. epitellus Staudinger, 1896 (coast of Kenya, coast of Tanzania)
  • B. e. homochroa (Rothschild & Jordan, 1905) (southern Ethiopia)
  • B. e. insulana Ackery, 1995 (Bioko)
  • B. e. kivuana (Jordan, 1910) (Democratic Republic of the Congo: east to Kivu)
  • B. e. lutosa (Suffert, 1904) (eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda: west to the Bwamba Valley)
  • B. e. melina (Thurau, 1903) (south-western Tanzania, Malawi: north to the shores of Lake Malawi)
  • B. e. paragea (Grose-Smith, 1900) (Sudan, western Uganda, western Kenya, north-western Tanzania)

References
  1. "Acraea Fabricius, 1807" at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
  2. "Afrotropical Butterflies: Nymphalidae - Tribe Acraeini". Archived from the original on 2012-08-10. Retrieved 2012-06-01.


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