''Bematistes vestalis'', the smoky bematistes, is a

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

in 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

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

, Guinea,

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

, Liberia, Ivory Coast,

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...

, the Republic of the Congo, the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

and

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

Description

. ''P. vestalis'' is distinguished from all the other species by the transverse band on the upperside of the forewing, otherwise so sharply conspicuous, being entirely absent or only in its posterior part (in cellules l-2) distinct and light grey-yellow; cellule 1 a is nearly always yellowish to beyond the middle; the hindwing above is light brown-yellow at least to the middle, but beneath only yellow-brown at the base as far as the apex of the cell. In the type-form ''vestalis'' Fldr. (58 e) the upperside of the fore wing is unicolorous blackish to the base except for a yellow stripe at the hindmargin and the more or less distinct transverse band and the hindwing above has a black marginal band 7-9 mm. in breadth, sharply defined proximally, and beneath a usually very distinct whitish transverse band behind the basal part. Sierra Leone to the Niger. - In ''stavelia'' Suff. (59 a) the basal part of the forewing above is more or less broadly suffused with light yellow and the yellow basal area on the upperside of the hindwing is not sharply defined distally and sends out yellowish rays nearly to the distal margin; on the under surface of the hindwing the whitish median band is absent or indistinct. Cameroons to the Congo.

Subspecies

*''Bematistes vestalis vestalis'' (Senegal, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria) *''Bematistes vestalis congoensis'' (Le Doux, 1937) (Democratic Republic of the Congo: Lualaba and Lushala), western Tanzania) *''Bematistes vestalis stavelia'' (Suffert, 1904) (Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo: north-west to Mongala)

Biology

The habitat consists of lowland forests. This species is mimicked by the ''striata''

morph Morph may refer to: Biology * Morph (zoology), a visual or behavioral difference between organisms of distinct populations in a species * Muller's morphs, a classification scheme for genetic mutations * "-morph", a suffix commonly used in tax ...

of ''

Pseudacraea eurytus ''Pseudacraea eurytus'', the false wanderer, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Africa. Description The numerous forms of this group dolomena'' and ''Pseudacraea rubrobasalis">rubrobasalis''] may be known at once by the ...

''. The larvae feed on '' Adenia cisampelloides''.

Taxonomy

See Pierre & Bernaud, 2014 Pierre & Bernau, 2014 Classification et Liste Synonymique des Taxons du Genre ''Acraea'
pdf
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References

External links

* *
''Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde'' 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 58
''e''
''Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde'' 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 59
''a'' ''stavelia''
Images representing ''Acraea vestalis''
at Bold Butterflies described in 1865 Acraeini Butterflies of Africa Taxa named by Baron Cajetan von Felder Taxa named by Rudolf Felder {{Heliconiinae-stub