Hypolimnas dinarcha

Hypolimnas dinarcha
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Hypolimnas
Species:	H. dinarcha
Binomial name
Hypolimnas dinarcha (Hewitson, 1865)[1]
Synonyms
Diadema dinarcha Hewitson, 1865 Hypolimnas dinarcha narchadi Suffert, 1904 Hypolimnas dinarcha liberiensis Bernardi, 1959 Hypolimnas dinarcha f. antiope Stoneham, 1965 Hypolimnas dinarcha f. cytherea Stoneham, 1965

Hypolimnas dinarcha, the Large Variable Diadem or Large Variable Eggfly, is a butterfly in the Nymphalidae family. It is found in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of Congo, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.^[2] The habitat consists of heavy lowland forests and secondary forests with a closed canopy.

Adult males mud-puddle and are also occasionally attracted to fermented fruit and animal droppings. There are two colour morphs. The light morph may be a mimic of a day-flying moth, while the dark morph appears to be a mimic of Amauris vashti.

The larvae feed on Fleurya species.

Subspecies

• Hypolimnas chapmani dinarcha (Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Angola: Cabinda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic)
• Hypolimnas chapmani grandis Rothschild, 1918 (Uganda, western Kenya, north-western Tanzania)

References

1. Hypolimnas, Site of Markku Savela
2. Afrotropical Butterflies: Nymphalidae - Tribe Junoniini