Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea) of Mount Kilimanjaro: Nymphalidae subfamilies Libytheinae, Danainae, Satyrinae and Charaxinae
Author
Liseki, Steven D.
Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute, Arusha, Tanzania; & Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK;
Author
Vane-Wright, Richard I.
Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK; & Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London, UK; & School of Human and Life Sciences, Canterbury Christ Church University, Canterbury, UK
text
Journal of Natural History
2015
2015-09-30
50
865
904
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2015.1091106
journal article
21272
10.1080/00222933.2015.1091106
05d1bac2-fe53-42ba-a04d-bc4828adaf4e
1464-5262
3990100
Danaus
(
Anosia
)
chrysippus chrysippus
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Larsen 1996
: pl. 27, fig. 385 i. d
’
Abrera 1997: 185
(6 figs, as
D. chrysippus aegyptius
). SI: Figure 2c
–
h.
Forewing length: male
33
–
47 mm
[mean (
n
= 30)
39.94 mm
, SD = 3.008]; female
27
–
46 mm
[mean (
n
= 13)
36.97 mm
, SD = 4.888].
Note: see Appendix 2 for an account of recent debate regarding the taxonomy of African
Danaus
.
Records
In most parts of the country, from sea level to high mountains, flying all year (
Kielland 1990
, p. 73).
Godman (1885
, p. 537, as
Danais dorippus
(Klug, 1845))
recorded this butterfly from
Kilimanjaro
up to c.
1500 m
, but Aurivillius (1910a, p. 2, as
Danaida dorippus
) gave elevations up to
3200 m
.
Kielland (1990)
did not give specific records but the continuing presence of this butterfly on the mountain was confirmed by
Liseki (2009)
. Beyond
Tanzania
this subspecies occurs throughout the Afrotropical Region, much of Arabia and Asia, including
Asia Minor
and the Levant, and even breeds occasionally in parts of southern Europe (notably
Italy
and
Greece
) (Ackery and Vane- Wright 1984;
Ackery et al. 1995
, p. 268, as
Danaus
c. aegyptius
(Schreber, 1759)).
In
many parts of
Africa
, including
Tanzania
,
D
. chrysippus
exhibits unimodal wing-pattern polymorphism (terminology of
Vane-Wright 1975
).
In
the
Kilimanjaro
area most individuals appear to be of the
‘
dorippus
’
phenotype, but forms
‘
transiens
’
,
‘
semialbinus
’
and
‘
albinus
’
also occur
–
indicating that the population is polymorphic at the loci controlling both hindwing coloration (the A-locus, with white recessive) and forewing pattern (the C-locus, with pre-apical forewing bar recessive)
.
In
OUMNH
there is a single male f
.
‘
chrysippus
’
from
North
Kilimanjaro
(
Kenya
), collected
19 June 1905
, ex
Brodie Collection
–
which can be presumed to have the genotype AAcc (see summary table in
Ackery and Vane-Wright 1984
, p. 95)
–
however, the nominate form appears genuinely rare on Kilimanjaro
. In Asia, form
‘
dorippus
’
is found as far east as
Sri Lanka
. In addition to colour pattern polymorphism, both sexes (and all forms) of this species vary very greatly in size.