''Amauris ochlea'', the novice, is a

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

of the family

Nymphalidae The Nymphalidae are the largest family of butterflies, with more than 6,000 species distributed throughout most of the world. Belonging to the superfamily Papilionoidea, they are usually medium-sized to large butterflies. Most species have a red ...

. It is found in southern and south-east

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

is 55–60 mm for males and 60–65 mm for females. Adults are on wing year round (with peaks in summer and autumn). The larvae feed on ''

Tylophora anomala ''Tylophora'' is a genus of climbing plant or vine, first described as a genus in 1810. It is native to tropical and subtropical Asia, Africa, and Australia. Most of the species are perennial lianas. The name is derived from the Ancient Greek '' ...

'', '' Tylophora stolzii'', ''

Gymnema ''Gymnema'' (Neo-Latin, from Greek γυμνὀς ''gymnos'', "naked" and νῆμα, ''nēma'', "thread") is a genus in the family Apocynaceae first described as a genus in 1810. One species, ''Gymnema sylvestre ''Gymnema sylvestre'' is a pere ...

'', ''

Marsdenia ''Marsdenia'' is a genus of plants in the family Apocynaceae first described as a genus in 1810. It is named in honor of the plant collector and Secretary of the Admiralty, William Marsden. The plants are native to tropical regions in Asia, Afri ...

'', ''

Secamone ''Secamone'' is a genus of plant in family Apocynaceae, first described as a genus in 1810. It is widespread across much of Africa, northern Australia, southern Asia, with numerous species endemic to Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagas ...

'', ''

Cynanchum chirindense ''Cynanchum'' is a genus of about 300 species including some swallowworts, belonging to the family Apocynaceae. The taxon name comes from Greek ''kynos'' (meaning "dog") and ''anchein'' ("to choke"), hence the common name for several species is ...

'', '' Cyanchum abyssinicum'', '' Cynanchum medium'', '' Cynanchum nigrum'', '' Cynanchum natalitium'' and '' Cynanchum vincetoxicum''."''Amauris'' Hübner, 1816"
at Markku Savela's ''Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms''

Subspecies

*''Amauris ochlea ochlea'' (eastern Kenya to Zululand, Natal) *''Amauris ochlea affinis'' Aurivillius, 1911 (Comoro Islands) *''Amauris ochlea bumilleri'' Lanz, 1896 (northern Malawi, south-western Tanzania, Zambia) *''Amauris ochlea darius'' Rothschild & Jordan, 1903 (northern Kenya (Meru, Mount Kulai) to southern Somalia and southern Ethiopia) *''Amauris ochlea moya'' Turlin, 1994 (Comoro Islands) *''Amauris ochlea ochleides'' Staudinger, 1896 (Eritrea, northern Ethiopia)

Gallery

Specimens from the coastal forest at Mabibi,

KwaZulu Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locat ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. File:Novice butterfly (Amauris ochlea) male underside.jpg, Male underside File:Novice butterfly (Amauris ochlea) male worn.jpg, Worn male File:Novice butterfly (Amauris ochlea) female underside.jpg, Female underside File:Novice butterfly (Amauris ochlea) female very worn.jpg, Very worn female File:Novice butterfly (Amauris ochlea) in flight.jpg, In flight

References

Seitz, A. ''Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde'' 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 24
a nominate b ''bumilleri'' Amauris Butterflies described in 1847 {{Danainae-stub