Euphaedra ruspina

Euphaedra ruspina
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Euphaedra
Species:	E. ruspina
Binomial name
Euphaedra ruspina (Hewitson, 1865) [1]
Synonyms
Romalaeosoma ruspinaHewitson, 1865 Euphaedra (Euphaedrana) ruspina

Euphaedra ruspina, or the common orange forester, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Ghana (the Volta Region), Togo, southern Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, western Uganda, north-western Tanzania and Zambia. ^[2] The habitat consists of forests.

Description

E. ruspina Hew. (42 b, as eleus has almost the colour and markings of eleus, but the shape of the wings is different, the forewing being shorter and more obtuse, with the distal margin weakly excised, and the hindwing distinctly but shortly produced at the anal angle. On the underside of the hindwing the white costal stripe is entirely absent. The red-yellow ground-colour is alike on both surfaces; the black apical part of the forewing and the marginal band of the hindwing are as sharply defined beneath as above; the marginal band ofthe forewing is much narrower between the hinder angle and vein 3 than in eleus; the subapical band of the forewing is white, sometimes narrow, sometimes broad and rounded; the breast with 2 very large white lateral spots at each side. The species bears a great external (mimetic ?) resemblance to some Geometrids, such as Aletis helcita L., and some Agaristids, as Weymeria athene Weym. and Tuerta ruspina Auriv ^[3]

Biology

Adults mimic day-flying moths, including Aletis helcita , Phaegorista similis , Heraclia poggei , Weymeria athenae and Oethrodea papilionaris .

Similar species

Other members of the Euphaedra eleus species group q.v.

References

1. "Euphaedra Hübner, [1819]" 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. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .

External links

• Specimen images Auckland Museum