Neptis saclava

Spotted sailer
N. s. saclava of Madagascar (above) and N. saclava marpessa (below)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Neptis
Species:	N. saclava
Binomial name
Neptis saclava Boisduval, 1833
Synonyms
Neptis marpessaHopffer, 1855 Neptis nemetes pasteuriSnellen, 1882 Neptis saclava marpessa ab. sheppardiStevenson, 1940

Neptis saclava, the spotted sailer, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is native to Madagascar and to large areas of sub-Saharan Africa.

Its wingspan is 40–45 mm in males and 45–48 mm in females The hindwing beneath at the base with whitish ground-colour and numerous irregular light red-brown spots, more or less joined together; cell of the forewing above unicolorous or with small white dots, beneath white with irregular light red-brown markings; discal spot 4 of the forewing is absent or very small, dot-like; the hindmarginal spot of the forewing is. large and touches the spot in cellule 2 or is only narrowly separated from it; the median band of the hindwing is 4—-7 mm. in breadth. Madagascar ^[1] Images BOLD

Adults are on the wing year round with a peak from December to May. ^[2]

The larvae feed on Acalypha glabrata , Combretum bracteosum , Ricinus communis , Australina , and Pilea . ^{[2] [3]}

Subspecies

Recognised subspecies: ^[3]

• N. s. saclava – Madagascar
• N. s. marpessaHopffer, 1855 – small spotted sailer, native to southern Nigeria, Cameroon to Ethiopia to Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Eswatini, South Africa: Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape only differs [from s.saclava] a little in the narrower median band of the hindwing and the smaller, more widely sepa¬ rated, white spots on the forewing.

Taxonomy

It is a member of the Neptis metella Species group

References

1. Aurivillius, [P.O.]C. 1908-1924. In: Seitz, A. Die Großschmetterlinge der Erde Band 13: Abt. 2, Die exotischen Großschmetterlinge, 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 .
2. Woodhall, Steve (2005). Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN   978-1-86872-724-7.
3. "Neptis Fabricius, 1807" at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms