butterflies of nigeria

Butterflies

Of Nigeria

Robert Warren

Gangirwal: Nigeria’s

highest mountain,

and home to

Colias electo: The

African Clouded

Yellow

IDENTIFICATION 1

IDENTIFICATION 1

MIMICRY

Models on the left

Mimics on the right

IDENTIFICATION 1

OBSERVATION

The better you have of the

following, the more butterflies

you will see:

1. Sun

2. Water

3. Quiet

4. Habitat

5. Food (Bait)

IDENTIFICATION 1

IDENTIFICATION 2

Skippers: small, fast

and whirry.

‘Odd’-looking (closer

to moths), and with a

hook on end of the

antennae.

The African Giant

Skipper

(Pyrrhochalcia iphis)

is common in Lekki

Swordtails: large butterflies with very

long tails. Fond of ‘mud-puddling’

Graphium policenes: The Common

Striped Swordtail

Sailers: Black and white

Brush-foots with a

distinctive flight pattern

39 species in West Africa,

all of which look similar,

and some of which can

look identical!

How do we know they are

different species? What is

a species?

Acraea (pl. Acraeidae):

Brush-foots with long

forewings. Many are

partially transparent

(‘Glass-wings’)

Almost all Acraeidae are

found in Africa

IDENTIFICATION 1

CONSERVATION

Okomu

Omo

IITA

Oban

Okwangwo

Gashaka &

Mambilla

New Ekuri

Rhoko Forest: protected by CERCOPAN and the community of Iko Esai

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

500

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180

Butterfly Species Accumulation Curve for Rhoko Forest

IDENTIFICATION 1

EXAM TIME!