Bebearia cocalia

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Common palm forester
Bebearia cocalia female Mwabungo Kenya 2011.JPG
Female
Bebearia cocalia male Mwabungo Kenya 2011.jpg
Male
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Bebearia
Species:
B. cocalia
Binomial name
Bebearia cocalia
(Fabricius, 1793) [1]
Synonyms
  • Papilio cocaliaFabricius, 1793
  • Bebearia (Apectinaria) cocalia
  • Euryphene badianaRebel, 1914
  • Bebearia badiana
  • Euphaedra themis ab. inornataRebel, 1914
  • Euryphene mardania kateravan Someren, 1939
  • Bebearia senegalensis katera
  • Euryphene mardania f. insularisSchultze, 1920

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

Contents

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.

Subspecies

Taxonomy

It is a part of the Bebearia mardania species complex [4]

References

  1. "Bebearia Hemming, 1960" at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
  2. Afrotropical Butterflies: Nymphalidae - Tribe Adoliadini
  3. Aurivillius, [P.O.]C. 1908-1924. In: Seitz, A. Die Grosschmetterlinge der Erde Band 13: Abt. 2, Die exotischen Grosschmetterlinge, Die afrikanischen Tagfalter, 1925, 613 Seiten, 80 Tafeln (The Macrolepidoptera of the World 13).Alfred Kernen Verlag, Stuttgart.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  4. W. N. Holmes, 2001 A reappraisal of the Bebearia mardania complex (Lepidoptera Nymphalidae) June 2001 Tropical Zoology 14(1):31-62 DOI:10.1080/03946975.2001.10531142