Bematistes epaea
Bematistes epaea, the common bematistes, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, the Republic of the Congo, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi and Zambia. Description. "P. epaea" is distinguished by having the hindmarginal spot of the forewing narrow and of fairly uniform breadth, at the hindmargin not or scarcely broader than half the hindmargin and not filling up the base of cellule 2, while the black marginal band on the upperside  of the hindwing is in the d suddenly much widened at the apex, but in the female often very broad. On the under surface of the hinclwing the basal area is brighter red-yellow than the other parts of the wing. - "epaea" Cr. (58 a). male- Ground-colour of the hindwing above, hindmarginal spot and subapical band of the fore wing yellow-brown; hind wing beneath in the distal part more or less suffused with brown-grey and in the middle somewhat lighter. female Subapical band and hindmarginal spot of the forewing white and also a median band on the  hindwing, 7 mm. in breadth, which forms a continuation of the hindmarginal spot of the forewing; the whole distal half of the hindwing, on the other hand, black-grey on both surfaces, with black veins and streaks. Senegambia to Angola and the upper Congo. -female -ab. "lutosa" Suff. is a female form which differs in having the white markings of the typical female light clay-yellow and the proximal part of the dark distal half of the hindwing above broadly light brown to dark yellow-brown or olive-brown; the pure black outer part of the distal half consequently retains  almost the same shape as in the male. Cameroons to the Congo. - "insularis" Auriv. is a race in which the male only differs from the type-form in having the subapical band of the forewing whitish yellow above and white beneath; in the female the subapical band of the forewing is pure white, but the hindmarginal spot of the forewing and the hindwing are coloured and marked quite as in the male ; the base of the hindwing beneath is light yellow instead of red- yellow. Island of Fernando Po. - "melina" Thur. is only known in the male; the light markings  of the upper surface are dull ochre-yellow and the hindmarginal spot of the forewing is differently shaped, as its proximal side runs quite parallel with the costal margin and if produced would intersect the apex of the wing; in addition the distal side of the hindmarginal spot is bordered by two straight lines and forms a distinct angle. Nyassaland. - "kivuana" Jord. the markings of the forewing nearly as large as in the type-form, but the subapical band light cream-coloured and the hindmarginal spot light tan-yellow; the hindwing before the middle with a narrow yellowish white transverse  band, not sharply defined distally; all the markings beneath yellowish white. -female : all the markings pure white; the subapical band of the fore wing narrower than in the type- form; the transverse band of the hindwing also narrower and more sharply defined. Island of Kwidgwi in Lake Kivu. - "paragea" Sm. (59c) is distinguished by having the markings very narrow and also in the male white; the subapical band of the forewing is only 1-2mm. in breadth and often almost broken up into spots; the hindmarginal spot is about 3 mm. in breadth and sometimes indistinct or obsolete at  the hindmargin; the transverse band of the hindwing is 5mm. in breadth, sharply (or not sharply -- "angustifasciata" Grunb.) defined and not or scarcely extending beyond the apex of the cell. Uganda and Sesse Islands. - "homochroa" Jord. (59 e). Both sexes similarly coloured and marked and agreeing with the male of the type-form. The orange-yellow colour of the upper surface is somewhat lighter than in the type-form and the dark marginal band on the upperside of the hindwing is much narrower and terminates at the middle of the hindmargin. Abyssinia. Biology. The habitat consists of forests and  dense Guinea savanna. Both sexes are mimicked by "Elymniopsis bammakoo", "Pseudacraea eurytus" and "Mimacraea darwinia", while the female is also the model for the female of "Papilio cynorta". "Acraea jodutta" is probably a co-mimic. The larvae feed on "Lindaeckeria schweinfurthii", "Lindaeckeria dentata" and "Adenia cisampelloides". Taxonomy. See Pierre & Bernaud, 2014