Euphaedra eleus

Euphaedra eleus
Illustration by Dru Drury
Ventral view
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Euphaedra
Species:	E. eleus
Binomial name
Euphaedra eleus (Drury, 1782)
Synonyms
Papilio eleus Drury, 1782 Euphaedra (Euphaedrana) eleus

Euphaedra eleus, the Eleus Orange Forester, is a butterfly in the Nymphalidae family. It is found in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of Congo, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. The habitat consists of primary forests and secondary forests with a closed canopy.

Adults mimic the day-flying moth Scopula helcita.

The larvae feed on Phialodiscus unijugatus, Deinbollia, Allophylus and Paullinia species.

Description

Upper Side. Antennae black, with two small white spots at the base. Thorax and abdomen black, spotted with two rows of white spots, in pairs, from the neck to the anus; those on the abdomen being the least. Half the superior wings next the tips black, with two white streaks thereon placed obliquely; the other half next the body dirty orange, the anterior edges being black. Posterior wings dirty orange, bordered along the external edges with black, whereon is a row of seven oval white spots on each wing, placed at equal distances.

Under Side. Palpi and breast orange. Fore legs orange, the rest white. Wings on this side dark orange-coloured. The white streaks near the tips of the anterior ones are very plain. Anterior edges of the posterior wings white, and the row of white spots along the external edges are here very conspicuous, each being verged with black. Wing-span 3½ inches (88 mm).

Subspecies

• Euphaedra eleus eleus (Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, northern Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, western Uganda)
• Euphaedra eleus gigas Hecq, 1996 (south-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo)