Butterflies of
Africa
Blue-banded Forester
Euphaedra harpalyce
CRAMER, 1777
Family - NYMPHALIDAE
subfamily -
LIMENITIDINAE
Tribe - ADOLIADINI
Euphaedra harpalyce,
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 ?
Euphaedra species are renowned for their beauty,
and harpalyce is one of the most beautiful. Both
sexes are similar in appearance, but the females usually have a narrow yellowish
sub-apical band on the forewing. The closely related species
eupalus is identical to
harpalyce on the upper surface, but has a pearly bluish-grey underside
with a suffused dark band, whereas in harpalyce the
under surface of the wings is a beautiful, plain, pale olive colour. There are
also several similar butterflies in the genus Bebearia,
including phantasina,
phantasiella and maladicta, but in all of
these the outer margin of the forewings is very concave.
Euphaedra harpalyce is distributed from Guinea-Bissau to Uganda and
western Kenya.
Habitats
This species is common in secondary forest
as well as intact rainforest, at altitudes between sea level and about 800m.
Lifecycle
The
larval foodplants include Allophylus,
Blighia, Lecaniodiscus,
Paullinia and Phialodiscus,
all in the family Sapindaceae.
Adult behaviour
Both sexes fly close to the
ground, elegantly weaving their way through the forest
undergrowth. They do not settle as frequently as other
Euphaedra species, but when they do,
it is usually on a large leaf, and in full sunshine. They are attracted to clusters of fallen
fruits, although again not as frequently or in as great abundance
as with other members of the genus.
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