Amauris niavius

Amauris niavius
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Amauris
Species:	A. niavius
Binomial name
Amauris niavius (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
Papilio niavius Linnaeus, 1758 Amauris obliterata Dufrane, 1948 Amauris partita Talbot, 1941 Amauris dominicanus Trimen, 1879

Amauris niavius - Museum specimen

Amauris niavius, known as The Friar, is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family. It is found in the forests of tropical Africa.

The wingspan is 80–85 mm for males and 78-82 for females. Adults are on wing year round (with peaks in late summer and autumn).^[1]

The larvae feed on Cynanchum (including Cynanchum medium, Cynanchum nigrum and Cynanchum vincetoxicum), Gymnema (including Gymnema sylvestre), Marsdenia, Secamone, Tylophora and Ipomoea. Larvae of ssp. dominicanus feed on Gymnema sylvestre.^[2]

Subspecies

• Amauris niavius niavius (from western Kenya to Zaire, Angola, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Fernando Póo (Macías Nguema Island))
• Amauris niavius dominicanus Trimen, 1879 (Natal, Mozambique, from Rhodesia to Malawi, eastern Tanzania and Kenya east of the Rift Valley)
• Amauris niavius aethiops Rothschild & Jordan, 1903 (Ethiopia, northern Uganda, southern Sudan)

References

1. Woodhall, S. Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa, Cape Town:Struik Publishers, 2005.
2. Amauris, Site of Markku Savela

• Seitz, A. Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 23 c dominicanus , d (missppeling)