Neptidopsis ophione

Neptidopsis ophione
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Neptidopsis
Species:	N. ophione
Binomial name
Neptidopsis ophione (Cramer, 1777)[1]
Synonyms
Papilio ophione Cramer, 1777 Papilio valentina Cramer, 1780 Eurytela morgani Doubleday, 1848 Eurytela velleda Mabille, 1890 Neptidopsis ophione var. nucleata Grünberg, 1911

Neptidopsis ophione, the Scalloped False Sailer or Scalloped Sailer, is a butterfly in the Nymphalidae family. It is found in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the Republic of Congo, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.^[2] The habitat consists of forest edges, secondary forest and dense woodland.

Adults are attracted to fermented bananas and sap exuding from the branches of trees and shrubs. They are on wing from January to September.

The larvae feed on Tragia benthami, Tragia brevipes, Tragia impedita and probably also Ricinus species.

Subspecies

• Neptidopsis ophione ophione (Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria: south and the Cross River loop, Cameroon, Bioko, Gabon, Congo)
• Neptidopsis ophione nucleata Grünberg, 1911 (northern Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, southern Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, eastern Zimbabwe)

References

1. Neptidopsis, Site of Markku Savela
2. Afrotropical Butterflies: Nymphalidae - Tribe Biblidini

• Seitz, A. Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 49 d velleda