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Post by mcheki on Sept 19, 2016 12:26:46 GMT
Back to the S tumentia. I think you are as near as you are going to get. See mine from Cameroon. I also have a note indicating a small doubt.
I also have to cast doubt on Euphaedra medon subspeciae as you do and agree with your comments.
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Post by cabintom on Sept 20, 2016 5:56:35 GMT
Here's one of those "ant trees" I keep mentioning (and africaone has mentioned is sometimes called the "infidelity tree"): These kids have no problems handling the ants, but the one time I got stung, it swelled up to practically the size of a golf ball.
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Post by africaone on Sept 20, 2016 6:23:17 GMT
Here's one of those "ant trees" I keep mentioning (and africaone has mentioned is sometimes called the "infidelity tree"): These kids have no problems handling the ants, but the one time I got stung, it swelled up to practically the size of a golf ball. this a small, it becomes a big tree
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Post by cabintom on Sept 20, 2016 13:09:59 GMT
this a small, it becomes a big tree I'm sure that it does. The areas I've encountered them most have been heavily disturbed, mostly for agriculture. It seems these are often left standing/growing in cleared out areas.
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Post by africaone on Sept 20, 2016 14:29:25 GMT
Epitola urania ♀ (I finally caught one! It's a bit rough, but what a beauty!) 21/VII/2016 Nebobongo, Haut-Uele (2°27'N, 27°38'E) 750m the wingshape looks like unusual
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Post by cabintom on Sept 20, 2016 15:00:03 GMT
the wingshape looks like unusual In what way? You've seen a lot more of these than I have, so I don't doubt your comment.
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Post by africaone on Sept 21, 2016 6:11:29 GMT
As far I remember the forewing of usual urania looks more elongate ... may a be picture effect ?
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Post by cabintom on Sept 21, 2016 12:45:32 GMT
As far I remember the forewing of usual urania looks more elongate ... may a be picture effect ? I just checked the specimen, and it would seem that the picture is accurate.
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Post by cabintom on Sept 24, 2016 14:08:35 GMT
Triclema staudingeri (Grose-Smith & Kirby, 1894) - I believe this is the correct ID, though there should be some blue on the FW. 21/VII/2016 Nebobongo, Haut-Uele (2°27'N, 27°38'E) 770m
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Post by cabintom on Sept 24, 2016 14:21:07 GMT
Precis rauana ssp. - Can anyone tell me what the correct subspecies should be? Even better, how to differentiate the nominate from silvicola? In Uele, silvicola is supposedly what you encounter, but I'm not seeing much difference between this and the specimen I caught in Nord Kivu, which is supposed to be the nominate. 25/VII/2016 Near Nebobongo, Haut-Uele (2°28'N, 27°38'E) 760m
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Post by mcheki on Sept 25, 2016 12:25:44 GMT
You are probably correct in your determination. Below are two males sent to me by, the late, Jan Kielland that he collected in north western Tanzania. He determined them and I agree. You can just see a few blue scales on the left forewing on the upper specimen, but they are not clear. The verso specimen does not appear to have any blue scales on the upperside of the forewing.
As far as Precis rauana is concerned there seems to be a north/ south divide. Silvicilor is the northern subspecies, but I agree they are very similar. Sorry can't help more at this stage.
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Post by cabintom on Sept 25, 2016 17:07:10 GMT
As far as Precis rauana is concerned there seems to be a north/ south divide. Silvicilor is the northern subspecies, but I agree they are very similar. Sorry can't help more at this stage. There's a number of species like this, where, although the forest is contiguous, somewhere in there there is a divide between the subspecies (and it seems for a large number of species the meeting point of that divide is somewhere in NE Congo). Without being able to read the description of the ssp. I find it is often hard to know what exactly I'm dealing with. It seems the tendency is to assign a subspecies ID based on location, rather than the actual characteristics of the bug... it don't find this particularly satisfying. At the very least here's a case that wasn't too difficult: Eurytela dryope dryope (Cramer, [1775]) 24/VII/2016 Nebobongo, Haut-Uele (2°27'N, 27°38'E) 790m Eurytela dryope angulata Aurivillius, [1899] 26/IX/2015 Quartier Malepe, Beni, Nord Kivu (0°29'N, 29°28'E) 1180m In angulata, the FW yellow band comes to a fairly abrupt end, and on the verso the light gray discal line is almost completely lacking (among other differences). According to Williams' Encyclopaedia, E. d. dryope has the following range: Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin (Fermon et al., 2001), Nigeria (south), Cameroon, Gabon, Democratic Republic of Congo (central and north). while E. d. angulata has a range of: Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo (extreme east and south), Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania (including Pemba), Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa If you Google "Bunia" (where I live) and look at on a map, I'd ask anyone to tell me whether they would place it as "north" or "extreme east". At any rate, E. d. angulata is quite common here.
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Post by mcheki on Sept 25, 2016 18:26:09 GMT
I have to totally agree with you and also find this merging of "subspecies" to be difficult to comprehend. In my mind subspecies must be geographically separate from each other and not be able to interbreed because of this. If they are able to interbreed surely they are now the same subspecies/ species. If a cline exists between the two surely this makes them the same, but possibly regional forms. As more and more areas are collected in further information on distribution becomes available and some of the old (Victorian) descriptions become less accurate. Next we will be told that ssp: dryope and ssp: angulata are two separate species!! Whereas rauana and silvicolor are the same.
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Post by cabintom on Sept 26, 2016 15:47:54 GMT
A few Heliconiinae from Nebobongo: Acraea (Bematistes) pseuderyta Godman & Salvin, 1890 ♂ 21/VII/2016 Nebobongo, Haut-Uele (2°27'N, 27°38'E) 750m Acraea (Bematistes) epaea epaea (Cramer, [1779]) ♀
23/VII/2016 Nebobongo, Haut-Uele (2°28'N, 27°38'E) 760m
Acraea (Rubraea) egina egina (Cramer, [1775]) ♂ 21/VII/2016 Nebobongo, Haut-Uele (2°27'N, 27°38'E) 790m Telchinia (Telchinia) jodutta jodutta (Fabricius, 1793) ♂ 24/VII/2016 Nebobongo, Haut-Uele (2°27'N, 27°38'E) 790m Telchinia (Telchinia) oberthueri laetopicta Rebel, 1914 ♀ 23/VII/2016 Nebobongo, Haut-Uele (2°27'N, 27°38'E) 750m
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Post by nomad on Sept 26, 2016 18:38:02 GMT
As always a lovely presentation of your African specimens. Top notch photography.
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