Common palm forester | |
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Female | |
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Male | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Family: | Nymphalidae |
Genus: | Bebearia |
Species: | B. cocalia |
Binomial name | |
Bebearia cocalia | |
Synonyms | |
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Bebearia cocalia, the common palm forester, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia. [2] The habitat consists of forests, particularly riparian forests
Both sexes are distinguished by the long and sharp teeth of the second transverse line of the forewing on veins -4 and 5. In the male the wings are dark red-brown or chestnut-brown above, with distinct black markings, only the third transverse band is scarcely darker than the ground-colour and hence only shows up at the costal margin of the forewing where it is light-bordered; the yellow subapical band of the forewing is very narrow (about 1 mm. in breadth) and is only present as a yellow bordering to the distal side of the second band in cellules 3—6; the postdiscal spots are large and rounded and at least on the forewing margined with orange. The female differs from the other species in the light upper surface; the basal part is light brown-yellow and distally shades gradually into the whitish ground-colour of the distal half; the dark markings as in the male; both wings darkened at the distal margin. Cameroons to Congo. [3]
Adults are attracted to fermented bananas.
The larvae feed on palm trees.
It is a part of the Bebearia mardania species complex [4]