Butterflies of
Africa
Shining Green Forester
Bebearia barce
DOUBLEDAY, 1847
Family - NYMPHALIDAE
subfamily -
LIMENITIDINAE
Tribe - ADOLIADINI
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Bebearia barce,
male, Bunso, Ghana |
Introduction
There are about 95 Bebearia
species, all of which are found in the forests of the Afrotropics.
Bebearia barce is unlike most other members of the genus, having almost
triangular forewings with glistening metallic hues which vary from
yellowish-green to turquoise or blue according to the angle at which the sun
reflects from their surface. The female is similar to the male, but has a
prominent whitish sub-apical bar on the forewings.
The Shining Green Forester is distributed from Sierra Leone to Congo and
western Uganda.
Bebearia barce,
male, Bunso, Ghana
Habitats
This species is found in rainforest
habitats, often in the vicinity of swamp palms.
Lifecycle
The
larval foodplant is Hypselodelphis ( Marantaceae ).
Adult behaviour
The adults are scarce and
secretive, and fly close to the ground in areas where dappled
sunlight reaches the forest floor. Males perch in sunspots, on
foliage or fallen branches, to await passing females. If disturbed
by other butterflies or by human activity they fly to another
nearby sunspot, but soon return to their original perch.
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