Aspects of Butterfly Life 



The Ituri Forest is very rich in species whose alUes may be found 

 in Uganda and across the western forest belt to the coast. Twenty- 

 three butterflies of which fifteen belong to the family of the " Blues " 

 were found to be new, as well as six moths. One of these moths is 

 the representative of a species of the Saturnid family hitherto known 

 only from Sierra Leone, It is remarkable for the hind wing being 

 produced to a very long tail This new form is much larger than its 

 relative It has received the name of Eudaemonia argiphontes harnsi. 

 The Leaf Butterfl}'' {Kallima cyniodoce Cram.) was observed feeding on 

 small flowering plants in the Ituri district. When disturbed it flies 

 into the undergrowth where it defies detection. A rarer species, but 

 more strongly leaf-like in its markings on the underside, is Kallima 

 ansorgei Roths., of which several specimens were taken in the dense 

 forest. 



The forest region of the Lindi and Congo rivers contains very 

 similar forms to those found in the Ituri. There were, however, 

 several forms new to science not represented in the Ituri Collection. 

 These comprise eleven butterflies and four moths. One of the former, 

 a richly coloured blue species of Lycaenid, we have named Epamera 

 harnsi. 



Scarcely anything is known as yet of the habits and life history 

 of the majority of the African butterflies and moths, though many of 

 the South African species have been worked out. In recent years, 

 the life-history of many Southern Nigerian insects, especially the re- 

 markable association of Lycaenids with ants, has been made known 

 through the labours of Dr. W. A. Lamborn and Mr, C. O. Farquharson. 

 Interested readers are referred to the transactions of the Entomological 

 Society of London for 1913 and 1921. Most of the Lepidoptera have 

 a very short period of flight, so that a collector who visits a locality 

 at different times of the year will obtain a greater number of species 

 than at any single period. On this account a vast number of species 

 must await discovery on the African Continent. 



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