Butterflies of
Africa
African Beak
Libythea labdaca
WESTWOOD, 1851
Family - NYMPHALIDAE
subfamily -
LIBYTHEINAE
Libythea
labdaca, Bobiri forest, Ghana
Introduction
Most
taxonomists consider the Libytheinae to be one of the most primitive groups of butterflies,
being probably the first to branch from the Nymphalid evolutionary tree.
The
Libytheinae contains only 13 species worldwide. The 4 found in the Americas
were transferred in 1943 to a newly erected genus
Libytheana, namely carinenta, which is found
in North and South America; and terena,
motya and fulvescens
all of which are found on islands in the Caribbean.
All of the Old World
Libytheinae are placed in the
genus Libythea.
There is one species on Mauritius, one in Africa, 2 on Madagascar, and one on
the Marquesas islands in Polynesia. One particularly successful species
celtis has an almost contiguous distribution from
Portugal to Japan.
Libythea
are characterised by having dark uppersides marked with orange streaks
and spots, and undersides cryptically marbled in shades of brown. The angular fw
apex is another feature common to all the species. By far the most
characteristic feature however is the long "beak" formed by the elongated labial
palpi. The palpi are sensory organs used for the detection of pheromones, and
are far more prominent in Libytheines than in any other group of butterflies.
Libythea
labdaca is distributed across most of sub-Saharan Africa. On the north
African coast it is replaced by celtis.
Habitats
This species is most frequent in secondary forest and savannah / woodland
mosaics, but migrating swarms can turn up anywhere from city gardens to
clearings and logging roads in rainforest.
Lifecycle
The eggs are tall, barrel shaped, and laid on
Celtis kraussiana or C.
sayauxii
( Ulmaceae ).
The
caterpillars are similar to those of Pierines, being green, cylindrical, and
covered in a layer of short fine setae. There is a thin yellow line along the
back of the abdominal segments, and another fine yellow line along the sides.
The
chrysalis is similar to that of Satyrines - smooth, elongated, and suspended by
the cremaster without the use of a silk girdle.
Adult behaviour
Libythea labdaca is
migratory and is often seen in vast swarms. Males settle to
imbibe dissolved minerals from muddy ground along forest tracks
and roads. They are very active and highly alert. If disturbed they fly up and settle
on twigs, where they are perfectly disguised as dead leaves,
but they soon return to feed on the ground once the danger has
passed.
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