Butterflies of
Africa
Paul's Buff
Pentila pauli
STAUDINGER, 1888
Family - LYCAENIDAE
subfamily -
LIPTENINAE
Tribe - PENTILINI
Pentila pauli,
Likpe Hills, Ghana / Togo border
Introduction
The
subfamily Lipteninae is wholly African in distribution. It comprises of 600
species varying from the tiny creamy yellow Liptena
xanthostola to the dazzlingly bright 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.
The genus Pentila comprises of 37
known species, most of which are patterned with black dots and dark borders,
although the ground colour varies according to species from white to bright
orange.
Pentila
pauli is distributed across most of tropical sub-Saharan Africa from
Senegal to Ethiopia and south to Angola, Congo, Tanzania and Malawi.
Habitats
This species is found in open sunlit areas of rainforest, e.g. at the edges of
clearings and along logging roads, and in dry forest / savannah mosaics.
Lifecycle
The larvae browse on the trunks of trees,
feeding on algae or possibly on lichen or microscopic fungi coating the bark. In
the case of Pentila pauli the trees usually host
colonies of Crematogaster ants, but this is not
always the case, so any relationship with the ants is not likely to be
symbiotic.
Adult behaviour
Both sexes commonly visit the extrafloral nectaries of
Marantochloa, sometimes with as many
as 3 or 4 Pentila pauli gathering to
feed together.
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