Bematistes epaea

Description

Bematistes epaea, the common bematistes, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, the Republic of the Congo, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi and Zambia. The habitat consists of forests and dense Guinea savanna. Both sexes are mimicked by Elymniopsis bammakoo, Pseudacraea eurytus and Mimacraea darwinia, while the female is also the model for the female of Papilio cynorta. Acraea jodutta is probably a co-mimic. The larvae feed on Lindaeckeria schweinfurthii, Lindaeckeria dentata and Adenia cisampelloides.