Elymniopsis

Elymniopsis bammakoo
Elymniopsis bammakoo depicted in Seitz Fauna Africana also as phegea and ssp. rattrayi
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Elymniopsis Fruhstorfer, 1907
Species:	E. bammakoo
Binomial name
Elymniopsis bammakoo (Westwood, [1851])[1]
Synonyms
Melanitis bammakoo Westwood, [1851] Elymnias bammakoo Papilio phegea Fabricius, 1793 Elymnias phegea var. intermedia Aurivillius, 1899 Elymnias phegea ab. angustata Bartel, 1905 Elymniopsis bammakoo var. hybrida Niepelt, 1915 Papilio lise Hemming, 1960 Elymnias rattrayi Sharpe, 1902 Elymnias bammakoo rattrayi Elymnias ugandae Grünberg, 1908

Elymniopsis is a genus of butterflies in the Nymphalidae family. It contains only one species, the African Palmfly (Elymniopsis bammakoo). It is found in Senegal, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Tanzania.^[2] The habitat consists of forests.

Adults appear similar to Acraea poggei in flight. The white form of bammakoo mimics the female of Papilio cynorta. Adults are attracted to fermented bananas and have also been recorded imbibing sap from wounds in trees.

The larvae feed on Elaeis guineensis, Phoenix reclinata, and Raphia hookeri.

Subspecies

• Elymniopsis bammakoo bammakoo (Senegal, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Central African Republic, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo)
• Elymniopsis bammakoo rattrayi (Sharpe, 1902) (eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, western Uganda, north-western Tanzania)

References

1. Cyrestis, Site of Markku Savela
2. Afrotropical Butterflies: Nymphalidae - Tribe Elymniini