''Euphaedra neophron'', or the gold banded forester, 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 ...

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 eastern and southern

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 ...

Description

1. Neophron Group. The species of this group may be easily known by having the upperside of the hindwing and the basal part of the forewing to the beginning of vein 3 similarly coloured, the apical part of the forewing on the other hand black with broad orange subapical band and yellow apex. The under surface is dark brown, grey-brown or yellowish with 1–3 black dots in the cells, lighter (male) to whitish (female) median band and oval, not very distinct postdiscal spots. The subapical band of the forewing shows through faintly. ''E. neophron'' Hpffr. The orange subapical band of the forewing reaches vein 2 or even extends somewhat into cellule lb; the basal part of the forewing and the whole upperside of the hindwing are bright green or blue-green with dark marginal band. Larva according to Junod green with two large golden yellow spots on each segment. Delagoa Bay to Usambara.-''violacea'' Btlr. is somewhat larger and differs in having the hindwing and the basal part of the forewing above of a beautiful violet colour and in the subapical band of the fore wing not reaching vein 2; the under surface is darker than in ''neophron'', particularly in the female. Pupa light green with golden spots. Kilimandjaro and British East Africa. ''E. ellenbecki'' Pag. entirely agrees with the preceding species in the markings, but is smaller and the hindwing and the basal part of the forewing are brown-yellow above, and but little darker than the subapical band of the forewing. Abyssinia.

Biology

Adults are on wing year round, with a peak from February to July. The larvae feed on ''

Deinbollia oblongifolia ''Deinbollia oblongifolia'' is a shrub or small tree in the family Sapindaceae. It is commonly known as the dune soap-berry and is found in coastal vegetation from the Eastern Cape of South Africa, through KwaZulu-Natal to southern Mozambiqu ...

'' and ''

Blighia unijugata ''Blighia'' is a genus of four species of flowering plants in the soapberry family, Sapindaceae, native to tropical Africa from Guinea east to Kenya. The fruit is partly edible, with the Ackee (''B. sapida'') being grown commercially for fruit ...

''.

Subspecies

Listed alphabetically:''Euphaedra neophron''
at Markku Savela's ''Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms'' *''E. n. neophron'' (northern Tanzania to northern KwaZulu-Natal, Malawi (Usambara Mountains), eastern Zimbabwe (Chirinda Forest, Sabi Valley)) *''E. n. ellenbecki'' Pagenstecher, 1902 (northern Kenya, southern Somalia) *''E. n. kiellandi'' Hecq, 1985 (southern Tanzania) *''E. n. littoralis'' Talbot, 1929 (south-eastern Kenya (coastal forests)) *''E. n. meruensis'' Carpenter, 1935 (Mount Kenya) *''E. n. rydoni'' Howarth, 1969 (Pemba Island) *''E. n. violacea'' (Butler, 1888) (Kenya (Taveta, Kasigau), northern Tanzania (Mount Meru, Mount Kilimanjaro))

References

Butterflies described in 1855

neophron Neophron of Sicyon (Νεόφρων, -ονος) was one of the most prolific of the ancient Greek dramatists, to whom are accredited one hundred and twenty pieces, of which only a few fragments of his ''Medea'' remain. This, it is said, Euripides ...

{{Limenitidinae-stub