''Protogoniomorpha parhassus'', the forest mother-of-pearl
[ or common mother-of-pearl,][Williams, M. (1994). ''Butterflies of Southern Africa; A Field Guide''. .] is a species of 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 ...
butterfly found in forested areas of 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 ...
.
Subspecies
*''P. p. parhassus'', the forest mother-of-pearl, from Tropical Africa
Although tropical Africa is mostly familiar to the West for its rainforests, this biogeographic realm of Africa is far more diverse. While the tropics are thought of as regions with hot moist climates, which are caused by latitude and the tropi ...
[Markku Sevala's pages: http://www.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/papilionoidea/nymphalidae/nymphalinae/salamis/index.html, retrieved 31 July 2010.]
*''P. p. aethiops'' (Palisot de Beauvais, 1805), the common mother-of-pearl from southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...
[
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Description
The following description is for ''P. p. aethiops'':
A large butterfly;[ the wingspan is 65–80 mm for males and 75–90 mm for females.][ The base colour of the upper surface of the wings is greenish white with a violet sheen in the wet-season form, and pearly white in the dry-season form.][ The forewing has a black-tipped, hooked apex. The wings have a few red eyespots which are ringed with black. There are black spots near the margins of both the forewings and hindwings. The underside of the wings has a greenish-white base colour, with eyespots corresponding to those on the upper surface.
]
Life cycle
Eggs
This species lays tiny eggs similar to those of ''Junonia
''Junonia'' is a genus of nymphalid butterflies, described by Jacob Hübner in 1819. They are commonly known as buckeyes, pansies or commodores. This genus flies on every continent except Antarctica. The genus contains roughly 30 to 35 species.
...
'' and '' Precis'' species.[Woodhall, S. (2008). ''What's that Butterfly?''. Cape Town: Struik Publishers. .]
Larvae
The larvae are similar to those of ''Junonia'' and ''Precis'' species, but larger.[ They feed on '']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''[), '']Brillantaisia
''Brillantaisia'' is a genus of plants in the family Acanthaceae
Acanthaceae is a family (the acanthus family) of dicotyledonous flowering plants containing almost 250 genera and about 2500 species. Most are tropical herbs, shrubs, or twining ...
'', ''Isoglossa
''Isoglossa'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae.
Selected species
* '' Isoglossa angusta''
* '' Isoglossa anisophylla''
* '' Isoglossa asystasioides''
* '' Isoglossa bondwaensis''
* '' Isoglossa bracteosa''
* ...
'' ('' I. woodii''[ and '' I. mossambicensis'' ][Dickson, C.G.C (ed.), Kroon, D.M.; ''Pennington's Butterflies of Southern Africa''; AD. DONKER 1978]), ''Mimulopsis
''Mimulopsis'' is a genus in the flowering plant family Acanthaceae with about 20 species native to tropical Africa and Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, ...
'', and '' Paulowilhelmia'' species.[
]
Pupae
The pupae are similar to those of ''Junonia'' and ''Precis'' species, but larger.[
]
Adults
The flight period of the adults is year round, peaking in summer and autumn.[ They have a "ponderous, flapping flight which can be quite fast".][ The males may perch on the leaves of forest trees, while the females stay closer to the ground near the larval food plants.][ These butterflies roost under leaves at night, and the males sometimes ]mud-puddle
Mud-puddling, or simply puddling, is a behaviour most conspicuous in butterflies, but occurs in other animals as well, mainly insects; they seek out nutrients in certain moist substances such as rotting plant matter, mud and carrion and they suck ...
.[
]
Gallery
File:Protogoniomorphaparhassus09aprpvkb1.jpg, ''P. p. aethiops'' in Eswatini
Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...
File:Common Mother-of-pearl Umdoni 14 06 2010 2.JPG, ''P. p. aethiops'' in 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:African Mother of Pearl (Protogoniomorpha parhassus) (7710539524).jpg, ''P. p. parhassus'', 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 ...
References
Junoniini
Butterflies described in 1782
{{Nymphalinae-stub