Bematistes vestalis

Bematistes vestalis, the smoky bematistes, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Senegal, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania.[2] The habitat consists of lowland forests.

Smoky bematistes
Illustrations from Felder and Felder's Reise der Österreichischen Fregatte Novara
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Nymphalidae
Genus:
Bematistes
Species:
B. vestalis
Binomial name
Bematistes vestalis
Synonyms
  • Acraea vestalis Felder & Felder, 1865
  • Acraea (Acraea) vestalis
  • Planema vestalis congoensis Le Doux, 1937
  • Planema vestalis stavelia Suffert, 1904
  • Planema umbra ab. fasciata Aurivillius, 1913

This species is mimicked by the striata morph of Pseudacraea eurytus.

The larvae feed on Adenia cisampelloides.

Subspecies
  • Bematistes vestalis vestalis (Senegal, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria)
  • Bematistes vestalis congoensis (Le Doux, 1937) (Democratic Republic of the Congo: Lualaba and Lushala), western Tanzania)
  • Bematistes vestalis stavelia (Suffert, 1904) (Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo: north-west to Mongala)

References
  1. "Acraea Fabricius, 1807" at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
  2. "Afrotropical Butterflies: Nymphalidae - Tribe Acraeini". Archived from the original on 2012-08-10. Retrieved 2012-06-01.


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