Subfamily Heliconiinae.: A largely pantropical group, with one of the five tribes found in the Holarctic Region.
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Tribe Acraeini: There are two Afrotropical genera contained within this tribe; Telchinia and Acraea, both represented at Semuliki. There are 138 described Afrotropical species within this tribe with 104 species recorded in Uganda. At Semuliki a total of 45 species from both genera have been recorded: 25 from the genus Telchinia and 20 species of Acraea, contributing to a third of the Ugandan species total.
Genus Cymothoe: There are 15 species of the Afrotropical genus Cymothoe so far recorded at Semuliki from a.continent total of 78 (Williams, 2018) and a Ugandan total of 17 (Williams, 2015) or 90% of Uganda's total. The two Ugandan species not being recorded at Semuliki being C. distincta and C. indamora, but with both these species being recorded either in the Ituri Forest or Semliki Valley (Ducarme, 2018) it is a distinct possibility that they will also be found in Semuliki. Only three species are frequently sampled in traps and these are C. sangaris, C. cyclades and C. confusa. This genus has been categorised into clades nd the most commonly trapped species C. confusa had a distinctly clumped distribution within Semuliki. Species from this genus were observed more in the forest midstorey as compared to the preference of the forest floor for the genera Bebearia, Euphaedra and Euriphene.
Genus Cymothoe: There are 15 species of the Afrotropical genus Cymothoe so far recorded at Semuliki from a.continent total of 78 (Williams, 2018) and a Ugandan total of 17 (Williams, 2015) or 90% of Uganda's total. The two Ugandan species not being recorded at Semuliki being C. distincta and C. indamora, but with both these species being recorded either in the Ituri Forest or Semliki Valley (Ducarme, 2018) it is a distinct possibility that they will also be found in Semuliki. Only three species are frequently sampled in traps and these are C. sangaris, C. cyclades and C. confusa. This genus has been categorised into clades nd the most commonly trapped species C. confusa had a distinctly clumped distribution within Semuliki. Species from this genus were observed more in the forest midstorey as compared to the preference of the forest floor for the genera Bebearia, Euphaedra and Euriphene.
BUTTERFLY
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Semuliki National Park, Uganda
Genus Euriphene: There have been five species of the genus Euriphene so far recorded from Semuliki. E. doriclea has been reported from Semuliki (Williams, 2022), although it has never been sampled in the fruit-feeding traps and was not included in the checklist publication (Forbes, 2018 ). It has been recorded from the DRC Semliki Valley and the Ituri Forest of the DRC (Ducarme, 2018). These five species contribute to around 40% of Uganda's 12 Euriphene species total, although E. barombina (included in the Davenport Uganda checklist) was recorded in error. E. saphirina (found at Semuliki) replaces E. barombina within the Congo Basin and comprises the species at the eastern extent of its range distribution. The occurrence of three of the species; saphirina, ribensis and atossa in traps was uncommon while only one specimen, a female E. amaranta, has been observed in flight and never sampled in traps. All five species of Euriphene recorded at Semuliki are environmentally sensitive and thrive in forests with good canopy cover and in good condition (undegraded).
The following museum images are taken from The Royal Museum of Central Africa, Tervuren in Belgium and portray the male (left column) and female, both upper and underside. There was only one specimen of Euriphene amaranta at Tervuren, the specimen below was taken from Entomology Collections, Natural History Museum, London.
Euriphene ribensis
Euriphene atossa
Euriphene saphirina
Euriphene doriclea (waiting on museum image)
Euriphene amaranta
Field Images: There are field images for all but one of the recorded species at Semuliki: E.amaranta. This has been recorded at Semuliki (then Bwamba Forest): the specimen's identity has been verified and it is stored at at The Hunterian Museum, University of Glasgow in Scotland. This species appears very rare throughout its range.
Euriphene ribensis (male, upper and underside)
Euriphene ribensis (female, upperside)
Euriphene ribensis (female, underside)
Euriphene atossa (male, upper and underside)
Euriphene atossa (female, upperside)
Euriphene atossa (female, underside)
Euriphene saphirina (male, upper and underside)
Euriphene saphirina (female, underside)
Euriphene saphirina (female, upperside lighter form found at its eastern range limit)
Euriphene saphirina (female upperside, dark form found in Congo Basin specimens)
Euriphene saphirina (female upperside, narrow subapical band)
Euriphene amaranta and E. doriclea (waiting on field images)
Specific genus site links, references and bibliography:
The publication (Butterflies of the World) listed below is available from www.insecta.de and www.goeckeevers.de.
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Hecq, J., (2002). Euriphene, Nymphalidae VI (part 15) and Supplement 5. Butterflies of the World. Bauer, E. & Frankenbach, T. eds. Goecke and Evers, Keltern, Germany.
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Nymphalidae.Net provides a detailed taxonomic overview of the Tribe Adoliadini. Tribe Adoliadini (Wahlberg, N).
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Savela, M. Euriphene Boisduval,[1847], Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Excellent online resource.
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Williams, M.C., (2018). Genus Euriphene. A section of Afrotropical Butterflies (17th Edition). Publication is available from Lepidopterists' Society of Africa website https://www.lepsocafrica.org/?p=publications&s=atb.
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