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
Research, Conservation and Education
Semuliki National Park, Uganda
Publications
Forbes, S. (2014). Butterflies of Semuliki National Park, Uganda. Antenna 38(2): 82-89.
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Forbes, S. (2017). The ecology and conservation of a fruit-feeding butterfly assemblage in a Ugandan lowland rainforest. PhD, The Evolution and Ecology Research Group, School of Life Sciences. The University of Lincoln.
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Forbes, S. (2018).The butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidia) of Semuliki National Park. Metamorphosis 29:14-21.
Social media
Facebook:
Semuliki National Park Butterflies page. New species record updates and relevant research material posted.
https://www.facebook.com/semulikibutterflies
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Semuliki National Park Butterflies private group. Posting of museum images and field images with information for each species.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/721707738578251
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YouTube:
Video of fruit-feeding butterfly trap, Semuliki National Park, Uganda.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhK4bli0dDs&ab_channel=ScottForbes
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Video of over 500 fruit-feeding butterflies in one trap at Semuliki National Park, Uganda.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePSiCdYAV3k&ab_channel=ScottForbes
The PhD research was generously supported by grants from:
The Royal Entomological Society and The Rufford Foundation
