Butterflies of
Africa
Red-spot False Dots
Liptena helena
DRUCE, 1888
Family - LYCAENIDAE
subfamily -
LIPTENINAE
Tribe - LIPTENINI
Liptena helena,
Bunso, Ghana
Introduction
The
Lipteninae are wholly African in distribution, and comprise of about 600 species, varying from the tiny creamy yellow
Liptena helena to the dazzling metallic blue
Epitola posthumus - a species which with a wingspan
of 65mm, is massive by Lycaenidae standards.
The Lipteninae are fascinating
because of their association with "ant trees", i.e. trees which support colonies
of Crematogaster ants. As with most other
Lycaenidae species, the caterpillars of Liptenids have ants in almost constant
attendance. The ants "milk" a sugary substance from a gland on the caterpillar's
back, and in return for this reward the caterpillar benefits because the
presence of the aggressive ants deters other insects such as wasps and flies
that would otherwise attack them.
Liptena comprises of 65 species, all of similar size ( circa 35mm
wingspan ), but varying in colour from pure white to yellow, orange or black.
Some species such as xanthostola have only very
feint markings. Others such as ferrymani are
strongly patterned with dark wavy lines. A few including
eukrinaria and similis are patterned with
black spots on a pale ground colour; while in others such as
helena and modesta
there is a polka-dot pattern of creamy spots on a dark ground colour.
The first part of the popular
name Red-spot False Dots refers to the upperside, which is dark brown, with a
small central red spot on the hindwing of the male. The female has extensive
areas of red or orange in the basal area of both wings.
Liptena
helena is a west African species, found from Sierra Leone to
Ghana.
Habitats
This species is found in good quality rainforest, at altitudes between about
100-600m.
Lifecycle
The larvae feed on algae growing on the
bark of trees.
Adult behaviour
The butterflies behave similarly to most other small Liptenids -
they spend long periods at rest, sitting at the tips of leaves or
tendrils with their wings held erect. They roost overnight on dry
twigs, close to the ground. Both sexes feed at extrafloral
nectaries.
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