Aspects of Butterfly Life 



of a new genus Descriptions of these and figures of most of them are 

 given in " The Bulletin of the Hill Museum," Part I, 1921. 



The collection is the finest that has been made in the Kivu region 

 and in the Ituri Forest, and is remarkable for the great number of 

 species and new forms. The majority of the specimens were in fine 

 condition and accompanied by a precise statement of the date and 

 locality. In many cases Mr. Barns was able to add some notes on 

 the habits of the insects. 



The collection adds much to our knowledge of the distribution 

 of many forms. Most African species range over the whole continent 

 south of the Sahara, and the occurrence of species hitherto known only 

 from South Africa, as far north as the Semliki Valley, is a further 

 illustration of the wide range of African butterflies. It is interesting 

 to note that these Semliki and Lake Edward specimens exhibit no 

 divergence from their South African brothers. The two environments 

 are most likely very similar. With a difference in the physical environ- 

 ment we generally find some divergence from the typical form of the 

 insect, though mostly not sufficient to constitute an entirely distinct 

 form or species. Many of the new forms described from the collection 

 represent what are known as geographical races or species in the making. 



The definite wet and dry seasons which prevail in most parts of 

 Africa, have their effect on the butterfly fauna. Some species exhibit 

 two quite different-looking forms, one flying in the wet, the other flying 

 in the dry season. There are often two forms of male and two forms 

 of female. One species of the Pierids possesses seven forms of female 

 of which Mr. Barns took four. The dry season form of butterfly is 

 especially common in the grassy steppe regions, whilst in the evergreen 

 forest belt of the west, the butterflies are larger and more richly 

 marked. These two types of country support quite different species 

 and forms, but as these areas cut into one another we can see why 

 the species are so widely distributed 



The grassy steppes of the east are the habitat of a multitude of 

 butterflies belonging to the family of the " Whites," amongst which, 

 species of the genus Teracolns are conspicuously common, with their 

 red- and purple- tipped wings. Together with these are great numbers 

 of red-brown and yellow-brown spotted Acraeids. 



As one reaches the forest lands of the west, the butterflies 

 characteristic of dry country disappear, but whenever long grass 

 country intersects the forest, these denizens of the steppes may be seen. 



A rich diversity of butterflies and moths is found in the vast ever- 

 green forests of the Congo basin, and it is remarkable what a number 

 of species live in the gloomy depths of these forests where sunlight 

 does not penetrate and where flowers are seldom seen. These insects 

 find their sustenance in tree gums, sap, decaying animal matter, and 



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