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Cabintom wrote: ↑Sat Aug 27, 2022 11:38 am According to Williams (Afrotropical Butterflies and Skippers), there are currently 4 recognized subspecies of Cymothoe lucasii:

The nominate is apparently found in Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, DRC (W)
ssp. binotorum is a bit to the north apparently being found in Nigeria (Cross River loop), Cameroon, Congo (parts of), C.A.R.
ssp. cloetensi is recorded from Gabon, Angola, DRC (Uele, Ituri, Kwango & Sankuru) - if this is factual, the distribution in DRC is quite disjointed)
ssp. minigorum from Congo

Generally speaking, in Lepidoptera Gabonese subspecies are also found through Congo, DRC (W), Cameroon (S). I found the idea that there would be 4 distinct subspecies within that region odd, so here's some digging I've done.

"Papillons du Gabon"
Vande Weghe ilustrates a male and female of the nominate (which match the daveuk's specimens), and a male of ssp. cloetensi (lacking the dark HW discal patch) but specifies that this male comes from Congo.
He describes the HW discal patch in the nominate as being variable within the populations in the countries interior, while the specimens from the Bateke Plateau (SE Gabon into Congo) lack the patch altogether = ssp. cloetensi? (Vande Weghe is uncertain).
He states it is a fairly seasonal butterfly, but that between November & March it can be truly abundant especially in old primary forest at high altitude (the highest point in the country is less than 1100m, so I'm not sure what Vande Weghe considers to be high altitude.)

"Les Papillons du Zaire"
Berger does not have much to say on the species. He illustrates a male & female of ssp. cloetensi (the types, which he states are in the MRAC collection), with the male lacking the HW discal patch. He seems to be the source for the DRC distribution stating Bas-Uele, Haut-Uele, Ituri, Kwango & Sankuru (TL in Sankuru).

Oddly, the types for cloetensi don't seem to be in the MRAC collection and instead there is a single paralectotype.
Here is that paralectoype.
Here is the MRAC box containing cloetensi specimens. (Note the single example of minigorum)
Here is the MRAC box containing specimens of the other subspecies (primarily, binotorum).

"Butterflies of West Africa"
Larsen states ssp. binotorum is found in Nigeria, Cameroon, and parts of Congo.
The nominate is from Gabon and western DRC.
ssp. cloetensi from eastern & southern DRC (this much more restricted than in both Vande Weghe & Berger)
ssp. minigorum "may simply be a transitional form"
Larsen also states that he never encountered the species in Nigeria.

The butterflies of the north-eastern DRC (a checklist put together by R. Ducarme) does not record the species from the Ituri Forest.

daveuk wrote: ↑Sat Aug 27, 2022 12:17 pm The other question that I should have asked first is your personal experience of encountering this species in DRC. Have you seen & collected it yourself?
Thanks once again for all the information you have provided on this & other species.

daveuk wrote: ↑Sat Aug 27, 2022 12:17 pm Interesting that Vand Weghe states that the butterfly can be truly abundant in primary forest during what I presume is the wet season. Suggests to me that is more likely to be infrequently collected & searched for in the wrong season rather the rare.

Trehopr1 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 30, 2022 11:01 pm Say fellas,
Whatever happened to the red species of Cymothoe which I used to know as C sangaris and C. coccinata ?

Have they been renamed or are they found elsewhere in Africa and you just haven't shown them yet?

These red species are as unusually colored a butterfly as the Colotis "purple-tipped" ones are.

Trehopr1 wrote: ↑Wed Aug 31, 2022 6:03 pm Hooray !!
Now that's what I'm talking about Dave. That species has been called the "Blood-red" Cymothoe in some of my older literature. This particular species has the most (overall) consistently BOLD red coloration of any of the related and/or similar species.

If it weren't for the (variable) marginal black dots on the hindwings --- it would be an all red butterfly; having no white spots or lesser red (depth) to its color.

I am grateful to cabintom for clarifying that there is a small complex of at least four species associated with the name C. sangaris. It superficially looks easy to tell apart species coccinata and excelsa from the proper "sangaris" which we butterfly guys have come to know for years. The species C. hobarti seems to be the one where confusion could occur...

Of course, I'm only speaking about the appearance of the males. Perhaps, amongst the females there are greater differences which help tell the species apart.

I want to really thank you for posting a photo of this well-known (overall) red species. I cannot think of another butterfly that comes close to this one in appearance.

Just one of Africa's marvelous one-of-a-kind offerings and a treasure in its own right !