Butterflies of
Africa
Crimson-spotted
Forester
Euphaedra themis
HÜBNER, 1807
Family - NYMPHALIDAE
subfamily -
LIMENITIDINAE
Tribe - ADOLIADINI
Euphaedra
themis, Bobiri forest,
Ghana
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.
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.
Euphaedra
themis, permixtum,
aberrans and several others have a crimson spot at the base of the
forewings, but can be distinguished from their differing underside markings.
The undersides of many species
are extremely beautiful, with black spots on a bright yellow ground colour. The
base of the hindwings of many species is bright pink, and in a several including
themis, sarcoptera and
janetta this colour is also found at the base of
the forewings.
Euphaedra themis is found from Sierra Leone to Cameroon.
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
themis are equally
abundant in degraded or secondary forest.
Lifecycle
The
larval foodplant is unknown, but is likely to be a member of either the
Sapindaceae or possibly Sterculiaceae.
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. The butterflies are strongly attracted to fallen
fruits, and will spend half an hour or longer feeding at them if
undisturbed.
I have not seen this species bask
with wings fully outspread, but if approached while feeding it
will often fan it's wings a couple of times before flying, allowing a chance of an upperside photograph.
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