''Neptis'' is a large genus of butterflies of Old World tropics subtropics. They are commonly called sailer butterflies or sailers, or more precisely typical sailers to distinguish them from the related blue sailer (''

Pseudoneptis ''Pseudoneptis'' is a butterfly genus in the family Nymphalidae. It contains only one species ''Pseudoneptis bugandensis'', the blue sailer or blue sergeant. It is found in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Camero ...

'').

Description

The head is rather broad and moderately hairy on the forehead. The eyes are large and prominent. The palpi are short, acute, slender, hairy, and do not rise above the level of the forehead. The antennae are moderately long, terminating in an elongate, gradually-formed club, flattened on its upper surface. The thorax is not robust and it is as broad as the head and slightly hairy posteriorly. The wing characters are: forewings elongate, rather truncate; costa only slightly arched; apex not acute, but well marked; hind margin slightly convex and sinuated; anal angle distinct; inner-margin convex near base, slightly concave about middle. Hindwings large, rounded; costa strongly arched; hind margin moderately dentate; inner margins only slightly convex, not covering posterior portion of the abdomen. Upperside patterning consists of white spots and bars (some species have orange or yellow bars) on a black ground colour. Underside patterns are yellowish to reddish brown, alternating with white bands The legs are rather short and stout. The abdomen is slender, much compressed and rather elongate. The head of the larva is very large and bifid on its summit. There is a pair of downy, elongate, tubercular processes, projecting laterally, on both the second and third segments—those on the third segment are much longer. There is an upright pyramidal process on the penultimate segment and the body is attenuated posteriorly. The pupa is strongly curved (thick in central portion). The head is deeply bifid. File:BimbisaraNashona 288 1.jpg, ''Neptis nashona'' showing undersides. In ''Neptis'' both sexes have similar wing markings but females are larger. File:EntNews3PlateIXNeptis.jpg , African ''Neptis''. Distinguishing the species involves study of the configuration of the white spots, bars and submarginal lines on both wing surfaces. File:TransEntSocLond1921Plate21.jpg, African ''Neptis''. Plate accompanying a classic study by

Harry Eltringham Harry Eltringham FRS (18 May 1873, South Shields – 26 November 1941, Stroud) was an English histologist and entomologist who specialised in Lepidoptera. Life He had been awarded a Master of Science (Cantab and Oxon) and a Doctor o ...

File:HorsfieldMoorCatalogueEastIndiaCompanyLepidopteraPlateV.jpg, Larva and pupa, figures 10 and 10a

Distribution

About 65 species occur in the Afrotropical realm, over 40 in the

Palearctic realm The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sib ...

6 in the

Australasian realm The Australasian realm is a biogeographic realm that is coincident with, but not (by some definitions) the same as, the geographical region of Australasia. The realm includes Australia, the island of New Guinea (comprising Papua New Guinea and th ...

and about 50 occur in the Indomalayan realm. Dschungel bei Oyala

Habitat

''Neptis'' are forest, including rainforest and secondary forest, butterflies. They are also found in lightly wooded areas and gardens.

Biology

Larval food plants come from the families Fabaceae, Rhamnaceae,

Euphorbiaceae Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of a genus in the family. Most spurges, such as '' Euphorbia paralias'', are herbs, but some, ...

Polygonaceae The Polygonaceae are a family of flowering plants known informally as the knotweed family or smartweed—buckwheat family in the United States. The name is based on the genus '' Polygonum'', and was first used by Antoine Laurent de Jussieu in 1 ...

, Sapindaceae,

Urticaceae The Urticaceae are a family, the nettle family, of flowering plants. The family name comes from the genus ''Urtica''. The Urticaceae include a number of well-known and useful plants, including nettles in the genus ''Urtica'', ramie (''Boehmeri ...

and

Connaraceae Connaraceae is a pan-tropical plant family of 19 genera and more than 180 species of largely evergreen trees, woody shrubs and climbers. The family was first described by Robert Brown in 1816 and the name has been conserved. Distribution Connar ...

. Adults have a "sailing" flight flapping their wings and then gliding. They frequently perch and visit flowers for nectar and damp patches where they imbibe salts and other nutrients. Adult uppersides exhibit

disruptive coloration Disruptive coloration (also known as disruptive camouflage or disruptive patterning) is a form of camouflage that works by breaking up the outlines of an animal, soldier or military vehicle with a strongly contrasting pattern. It is often comb ...

, This species has been observed to make sounds whose function has not been established.Scott, F.W. (1968). Sound produced by ''Neptis hylas'' (Nymphalidae). ''Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society'' 22(4):254

Taxonomy

''Neptis'' are allied to ''

Pantoporia ''Pantoporia'' is a genus of Asian butterflies sometimes called the lascars. They are predominantly with striped patterns of orange and black. Species in the genus include: * '' Pantoporia antara'' (Moore, 1858) * '' Pantoporia assamica'' (Moore ...

'', in which the white wing markings are replaced by orange and to ''

Athyma ''Athyma'' is a genus of brush-footed butterflies. They are commonly known as the "true" or "typical" sergeants, to distinguish them from the false sergeants of the genus ''Pseudathyma'', a fairly close relative from the Adoliadini tribe. The ge ...

'' resemble ''Neptis'' but have more triangular forewings. The

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...

of the genus is '' Papilio aceris'' Esper.

Species

Species include: *''

Neptis agatha ''Neptis'' is a large genus of butterflies of Old World tropics subtropics. They are commonly called sailer butterflies or sailers, or more precisely typical sailers to distinguish them from the related blue sailer (''Pseudoneptis''). Descri ...

'' Cramer 1782 * ''

Neptis agouale ''Neptis agouale'', the common club-dot sailer , is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, the Democra ...

'' Pierre-Baltus, 1978 * ''

Neptis alta ''Neptis alta'', the old sailer or high sailer, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Senegal, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo, the southern part of the Democr ...

'' Overlaet, 1955 * ''

Neptis alwina ''Neptis'' is a large genus of butterflies of Old World tropics subtropics. They are commonly called sailer butterflies or sailers, or more precisely typical sailers to distinguish them from the related blue sailer (''Pseudoneptis''). Descri ...

'' Bremer & Grey, 1853 * ''

Neptis amieti ''Neptis amieti'' is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the ...

'' Pierre-Baltus, 2007 * '' Neptis ananta'' Moore, 1858 – yellow sailer * '' Neptis angusta'' Condamin, 1966 * '' Neptis anjana'' Moore, 1881 – rich sailer * '' Neptis antilope'' Leech, 1892 – variegated sailer * '' Neptis arachne'' Leech, 1890 * '' Neptis armandia'' Oberthür, 1876 * '' Neptis aurivillii'' Schultze, 1913 * '' Neptis beroe'' Leech, 1890 * '' Neptis biafra'' Ward, 1871 * '' Neptis brebissonii'' Boisduval, 1832 * '' Neptis camarensis'' Schultze, 1917 * '' Neptis carcassoni'' van Son, 1959 – Carcasson's streaked sailer * ''

Neptis carlsbergi ''Neptis carlsbergi'', the Carlsberg sailer, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal R ...

'' Collins & Larsen, 2005 * '' Neptis carpenteri'' Eltringham, 1922 * '' Neptis cartica'' Moore, 1872 – plain sailer * '' Neptis celebica'' Moore, 1899 * '' Neptis choui'' Yuan & Wang, 1994 * '' Neptis clarei'' Aurivillius, 1912 – Clare's sailer * '' Neptis claude'' Collins & Larsen, 2005 * ''

Neptis clinia ''Neptis clinia'', the southern sullied sailer or clear sailer, is a species of nymphalid butterfly found in South Asia and Southeast Asia.Neptis clinioides'' de Nicéville, 1894 * '' Neptis columella'' Neave, 1904 * '' Neptis comorarum'' Oberthür, 1890 * '' Neptis conspicua'' Neave, 1904 * '' Neptis constantiae'' Carcasson, 1961 – Constance's sailer * '' Neptis continuata'' Holland, 1892 * ''

Neptis cormilloti ''Neptis cormilloti'' is a butterfly 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 ...

'' Turlin, 1994 * '' Neptis cydippe'' Leech, 1890 – Chinese yellow sailer * '' Neptis cymela'' C. & R. Felder, 1863 * '' Neptis decaryi'' Le Cerf, 1928 * '' Neptis dejeani'' Oberthür, 1894 * '' Neptis dentifera'' Schultze, 1917 * '' Neptis divisa'' Oberthür, 1908 * '' Neptis dumetorum'' Boisduval, 1833 * '' Neptis duryodana'' Moore, 1858 * '' Neptis eltringhami'' Joicey & Talbot, 1926 * ''

Neptis esakii ''Neptis'' is a large genus of butterflies of Old World tropics subtropics. They are commonly called sailer butterflies or sailers, or more precisely typical sailers to distinguish them from the related blue sailer (''Pseudoneptis''). Descri ...

'' Nomura, 1935 * '' Neptis exaleuca'' Karsch, 1894 * '' Neptis felisimilis'' Schröder & Treadaway, 1983 * '' Neptis frobenia'' (Fabricius, 1798) * '' Neptis goochi'' Trimen, 1879 – (small) streaked sailer * '' Neptis gracilis'' (Kirsch, 1885) * '' Neptis gratiosa'' Overlaet, 1955 * '' Neptis guia'' Chou & Wang, 1994 * '' Neptis harita'' Moore, 1875 – (Indian) dingiest sailer * '' Neptis hesione'' Leech, 1890 * '' Neptis hylas'' (Linnaeus, 1758) – common sailer * '' Neptis ida'' Moore, 1858 * '' Neptis ilira'' Kheil, 1884 * '' Neptis incongrua'' Butler, 1896 * '' Neptis infusa'' Birket-Smith, 1960 * '' Neptis ioannis'' Eliot, 1959 * '' Neptis jamesoni'' Godman & Salvin, 1890 * '' Neptis jordani'' Neave, 1910 – Jordan's sailer * '' Neptis jumbah'' Moore, 1857 – chestnut-streaked sailer * '' Neptis katama'' Collins & Larsen, 1991 * '' Neptis kikideli'' Boisduval, 1833 * '' Neptis kikuyuensis'' Jackson, 1951 – Kikuyu sailer * '' Neptis kiriakoffi'' Overlaet, 1955 – Kiriakoff's sailer * '' Neptis laeta'' Overlaet, 1955 – common sailer * '' Neptis lamtoensis'' Pierre-Baltus, 2007 * '' Neptis larseni'' Wojtusiak & Pyrcz, 1997 * ''

Neptis latvitta ''Neptis'' is a large genus of butterflies of Old World tropics subtropics. They are commonly called sailer butterflies or sailers, or more precisely typical sailers to distinguish them from the related blue sailer (''Pseudoneptis''). Descri ...

'' Strand, 1909 * '' Neptis lermanni'' Aurivillius, 1896 * '' Neptis leucoporos'' Fruhstorfer, 1908 * '' Neptis liberti'' Pierre & Pierre-Baltus, 1998 * '' Neptis livingstonei'' Suffert, 1904 * '' Neptis loma'' Condamin, 1971 * '' Neptis lugubris'' Rebel, 1914 * '' Neptis magadha'' C. & R. Felder, 1867 * '' Neptis mahendra'' Moore, 1872 – Himalayan sailer * '' Neptis manasa'' Moore, 1857 – pale hockeystick sailer * '' Neptis marci'' Collins & Larsen, 1998 * '' Neptis matilei'' Pierre-Balthus, 2000 * ''

Neptis mayottensis ''Neptis mayottensis'' is a butterfly 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 ...

'' Oberthür, 1890 * '' Neptis melicerta'' (Drury, 1773) – streaked sailer * ''

Neptis meloria ''Neptis'' is a large genus of butterflies of Old World tropics subtropics. They are commonly called sailer butterflies or sailers, or more precisely typical sailers to distinguish them from the related blue sailer (''Pseudoneptis''). Descri ...

'' Oberthür, 1906 * '' Neptis metalla'' Doubleday & Hewitson * '' Neptis metanira'' Holland, 1892 * '' Neptis metella'' Doubleday & Hewitson, 1850 * '' Neptis miah'' Moore, 1858 * '' Neptis mindorana'' C. & R. Felder, 1863 * '' Neptis mixophyes'' Holland, 1892 * '' Neptis morosa'' Overlaet, 1955 – morose sailer * '' Neptis mpassae'' Pierre-Baltus, 2007 * '' Neptis multiscoliata'' Pierre-Baltus, 2007 * '' Neptis najo'' Karsch, 1893 * '' Neptis namba'' Tytler, 1915 * '' Neptis nandina'' Moore, 1858 * '' Neptis narayana'' Moore, 1858 – broadstick sailer * ''

Neptis nashona ''Neptis nashona'', the less rich sailer, is a nymphalid butterfly found in Asia. The species was first described by Charles Swinhoe Colonel Charles Swinhoe (27 August 1838, in CalcuttaAlthough many published sources give 1836, the India Offic ...

'' Swinhoe, 1896 – less rich sailer * '' Neptis nata'' Moore, 1858 – dirty sailer * ''

Neptis nausicaa ''Neptis'' is a large genus of butterflies of Old World tropics subtropics. They are commonly called sailer butterflies or sailers, or more precisely typical sailers to distinguish them from the related blue sailer (''Pseudoneptis''). Descri ...

'' de Nicéville, 1897 * '' Neptis nebrodes'' Hewitson, 1874 * ''

Neptis nemetes ''Neptis nemetes'', commonly known as the Nemetes sailer, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in western, central and eastern Africa. The habitat consists of lowland forests and riverine thicket. The larvae feed on Asteraceae s ...

'' Hewitson, 1868 * '' Neptis nemorosa'' Oberthür, 1906 * '' Neptis nemorum'' Oberthür, 1906 * '' Neptis nicobule'' Holland, 1892 * '' Neptis nicomedes'' Hewitson, 1874 * '' Neptis nicoteles'' Hewitson, 1874 * '' Neptis nigra'' Pierre-Baltus, 2007 * '' Neptis nina'' Staudinger, 1896 – tiny sailer * ''

Neptis nisaea ''Neptis'' is a large genus of butterflies of Old World tropics subtropics. They are commonly called sailer butterflies or sailers, or more precisely typical sailers to distinguish them from the related blue sailer (''Pseudoneptis''). Descri ...

'' de Nicéville, 1894 * '' Neptis nitetis'' Hewitson, 1868 * '' Neptis noyala'' Oberthür, 1906 * '' Neptis nycteus'' de Nicéville, 1890 – hockeystick sailer * '' Neptis nysiades'' Hewitson, 1868 * '' Neptis occidentalis'' Rothschild, 1918 * '' Neptis ochracea'' Neave, 1904 * '' Neptis omeroda'' Moore, 1875 * '' Neptis pampanga'' C. & R. Felder, 1863 * '' Neptis paula'' Staudinger, 1895 * '' Neptis penningtoni'' van Son, 1977 – Pennington's sailer * '' Neptis philyra'' Ménétriés, 1858 * '' Neptis philyroides'' Staudinger, 1887 * '' Neptis poultoni'' Eltringham, 1921 * '' Neptis praslini'' (Boisduval, 1832) * '' Neptis pryeri'' Butler, 1871 * '' Neptis pseudonamba'' Huang, 2001 * '' Neptis pseudovikasi'' (Moore, 1899) * '' Neptis puella'' Aurivillius, 1894 * '' Neptis quintilla'' Mabille, 1890 * '' Neptis radha'' Moore, 1857 – great yellow sailer * '' Neptis reducta'' Fruhstorfer, 1908 * '' Neptis rivularis'' (Scopoli, 1763) – Hungarian glider * '' Neptis rogersi'' Eltringham, 1921 – Roger's sailer * '' Neptis rothschildi'' Eltringham, 1921 * '' Neptis rosa'' Pierre-Baltus, 2007 * '' Neptis saclava'' Boisduval, 1833 – spotted sailer * '' Neptis sangangi'' Huang, 2001 * '' Neptis sankara'' (Kollar, 1844) – broad-banded sailer * ''

Neptis sappho ''Neptis sappho'', the Pallas' sailer or common glider, is a nymphalid butterfly found in Central Europe, Russia, India and other parts of temperate Asia and Japan.Neptis satina'' Grose-Smith, 1894 * '' Neptis sedata'' Sasaki, 1982 * '' Neptis seeldrayersi'' Aurivillius, 1895 * '' Neptis serena'' Overlaet, 1955 – river sailer * '' Neptis sextilla'' Mabille, 1882 * '' Neptis sinocartica'' Chou & Wang, 1994 * '' Neptis soma'' Moore, 1858 – sullied sailer * '' Neptis speyeri'' Staudinger, 1887 * ''

Neptis stellata ''Neptis stellata'' is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the ...

'' Pierre-Baltus, 2007 * '' Neptis strigata'' Aurivillius, 1894 * '' Neptis sunica'' Eliot, 1969 * ''

Neptis swynnertoni ''Neptis swynnertoni'', or Swynnerton's sailer, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in southern Malawi, west central Mozambique and eastern Zimbabwe. The habitat consists of montane forests Montane ecosystems are found on t ...

'' Trimen, 1912 * '' Neptis sylvana'' Oberthür, 1906 * '' Neptis taiwana'' Fruhstorfer, 1908 * '' Neptis theodora'' Oberthür, 1906 * '' Neptis thestias'' Leech, 1892 * '' Neptis thetis'' Leech, 1890 * '' Neptis trigonophora'' Butler, 1878 – barred sailer * '' Neptis troundi'' Pierre-Baltus, 1978 * '' Neptis vibusa'' Semper, 1889 * '' Neptis vikasi'' Horsfield, 1829 – dingy sailer * '' Neptis vindo'' Pierre-Baltus, 1978 * '' Neptis vingerhoedti'' Pierre-Baltus, 2003 * '' Neptis viridis'' Pierre-Baltus, 2007 * '' Neptis woodwardi'' Sharpe, 1899 – Woodward's sailer * '' Neptis yerburii'' Butler, 1886 – Yerbury's sailer * '' Neptis zaida'' Westwood, 1850 – pale-green sailer

References

Seitz, A. ''Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde'' 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 48

External links

Images representing ''Neptis'' at EOL
* ''Neptis'' full species list at Swedish Wikipedia {{Taxonbar, from=Q538047 Nymphalidae genera Taxa named by Johan Christian Fabricius Limenitidinae