Butterflies of
Africa
Ceres Forester
Euphaedra ceres
FABRICIUS, 1775
Family - NYMPHALIDAE
subfamily -
LIMENITIDINAE
Tribe - ADOLIADINI
Euphaedra
ceres,
female, Wli Falls, Ghana / Togo border
Introduction
The
genus
Euphaedra
comprises of a yet to be discerned number of large and very beautiful
forest-dwelling butterflies, all found on the African continent. Hecq puts the total number of species as high as 154, but this is challenged
by a number of other workers who believe that many of these are merely
local forms or subspecies. Some workers also believe that a large number of
hybrids occur, but one has to ask why this should happen with
Euphaedra, but not with other genera ?
The butterflies all share a common wing shape, and most have a similar pattern on
the upperside - typically the basal areas of the wings ( particularly the
hindwings ) have large patches of metallic blue, green, orange or red scales;
and most species also have a cream or orange sub-apical bar. The underside of
ceres is quite
plain, but other species such as sarcoptera and
zaddachii are very strikingly marked with black stigmata and
scarlet streaks on a bright yellow ground colour.
Euphaedra ceres is one of about 40 species loosely assigned to the
"ceres" sub-group - species with very similar upperside patterns, and which are
devoid of pink or red markings on the undersides.
The Ceres Forester is found in
forested regions from Sierra Leone to Cameroon, Gabon and Congo.
Habitats
As with all Euphaedra
species, this butterfly is an inhabitant of tropical rainforest, and is
found at altitudes between sea level and about
1000m. Some species are confined to primary forest, but many including
ceres are equally abundant in degraded or secondary
forest. It seems to prefer the sunnier and drier forests, and occasionally even
turns up in town gardens.
Lifecycle
The
caterpillars
are green, and adorned with an array of multi-branched lateral spines which are
appressed to the leaf on which they are resting. They feed on Sapindaceae.
Adult behaviour
Both sexes fly close to the
ground, elegantly weaving their way through the forest
undergrowth. They do so with great adeptness, and are very
graceful in flight.
Females, and to a
lesser extent males, are strongly attracted to clusters of fallen
fruits, particularly
Ficus, and patrol back and
forth along forest paths in search of them. It is not unusual for
groups of up to 30 Euphaedra
and Bebearia butterflies of
various species to aggregate at such feeding sites.
Both sexes are often
seen basking with wings outspread, either in sunspots on the
forest floor, or on the foliage of bushes in light gaps. Females
sometimes fan their wings slowly open and closed when feeding.
Euphaedra
ceres,
Bobiri forest, Ghana
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