''Junonia oenone'', the blue pansy or dark blue pansy, is a

Nymphalid 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 ...

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 ...

native to Africa.Williams, M. (1994). ''Butterflies of Southern Africa; A Field Guide''. . "Blue pansy" is also used in India to describe ''

Junonia orithya ''Junonia orithya'' is a nymphalid butterfly with many subspecies occurring from Africa, through southern and south-eastern Asia, Cambodia and in Australia. In India, its common English name is the blue pansy, but in southern Africa it is known a ...

''."''Junonia'' Hübner, [1819]"
at Markku Savela's ''Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms''

Subspecies

* ''Junonia oenone oenone'' from continental Africa. * ''Junonia oenone epiclelia'' Boisduval, 1833 from

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

, Aldabra, Astove, Assumption Island, Assumption and Cosmoledo Island. Blue pansy (Junonia oenone) underside.jpg, ''J. o. oenone'',

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

Dark blue pansy (Junonia oenone epiclelia) male.jpg, ''J. o. epiclelia'' male,

Dark blue pansy (Junonia oenone epiclelia) female.jpg, ''J. o. epiclelia'' female,

Description

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 40–52 mm. The upper surface of the forewings is black with white markings towards the apex. The upper surface of the hindwings is black with white markings on the outer edge, and a characteristic large metallic-blue spot. This blue spot is smaller and more a dull purple in females. The underside of the forewings is brown with white markings corresponding to those on the upper surface. The under surface of the hindwings is almost uniform brown.

Larval food plants

The larvae feed on ''

Adhatoda densiflora ''Justicia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae. It is the largest genus within the family, encompassing around 700 species with hundreds more as yet unresolved. They are native to tropical to warm temperate regions of the A ...

'', ''

Mackaya bella ''Mackaya bella'', called the forest bell bush, is a species of flowering plant in the acanthus family Acanthaceae, native to South Africa. Growing to tall and broad, it is an evergreen shrub with glossy green leaves, and trumpet-shaped pale l ...

'', ''

Justicia natalensis Justicia may refer to: * ''Justicia'' (album), by Eddie Palmieri, 1969 * Justicia (Madrid), a ward in the Madrid city center * ''Justicia'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae * Justicia mayor, a 19th century Spanish ...

'' and ''

Asystasia The genus ''Asystasia'' belongs to the family Acanthaceae and comprises approximately 70 species found in the tropics, including the weedy species ''Asystasia gangetica''. Selected species * '' Asystasia africana'' (S. Moore) C.B. Clarke * ''As ...

'' ('' A. gangetica''), ''

Isoglossa ''Isoglossa'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae. Selected species * '' Isoglossa angusta'' * '' Isoglossa anisophylla'' * '' Isoglossa asystasioides'' * '' Isoglossa bondwaensis'' * '' Isoglossa bracteosa'' * ...

'', '' Pualowilhelmia'' and '' Ruella'' species.Larsen, Torben B. (1996). ''The Butterflies of Kenya and Their Natural History''.

References

''Junonia oenone''
UK Butterflies

oenone In Greek mythology, Oenone (; Ancient Greek: Οἰνώνη ''Oinōnē''; "wine woman") was the first wife of Paris of Troy, whom he abandoned for Helen. Oenone was also the ancient name of an island, which was later named after Aegina, daughter ...

Butterflies of Africa Butterflies of Asia Butterflies described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Nymphalinae-stub