Colotis

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58chevy
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Re: Colotis

Post by 58chevy »

I'm becoming a big fan of Colotis after watching this thread. Unfortunately, they're not native to the USA. Importing specimens is too much of a hassle. Thanks for all the pictures.
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Re: Colotis

Post by daveuk »

I do find C zoe & C regina really beautiful but for some reason I find C protomedia even more pleasing to the eye. Particularly the verso.
A shame you can't get safely to places where this genus flies. I envy you having seen some alive.
A pair of C antevippe zera from Uganda & a male C antevippe gavisa from South Africa.
I believe that's a female C antevippe zera from Uganda but I am not 100% sure
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Re: Colotis

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A male Colotis regina from Tanzania. Believe this is my largest specimen of regina. At some angles the tips appear almost black but at other angles the tips glow. Have taken a photo at an angle to display this wonderful display of colours.
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Re: Colotis

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Colotis elgonensis. Uganda.
I have four specimens of subspecies kenia(?)
Three specimens have purple spots on forewing tips. One does not. Am presuming this one could be a female.
All specimens shown recto & two shown verso with data.
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Re: Colotis

Post by daveuk »

Colotis danae
South Africa.
A pair shown recto & verso & a larger male with data
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Re: Colotis

Post by Cabintom »

daveuk wrote: Tue Aug 30, 2022 2:01 pm Colotis elgonensis. Uganda.
I have four specimens of subspecies kenia(?)
Three specimens have purple spots on forewing tips. One does not. Am presuming this one could be a female.
All specimens shown recto & two shown verso with data.
There is considerable variation in the apical marking within this species. I'm inclined to believe your "spotless" specimen is also a male (the inner edge of the black apical patch in females is not as smoothly contoured).
Berger, in "Les Papillons du Zaire" (1981), illustrates a male without purple spots and with considerably reduced black at the apex (it looks almost like a Dixeia orbona in my opinion). Despite having described ssp. basilewskyi in 1956, by the time Berger authored the Zaire book he doubted the validity of any of elgonensis' ssps., excluding them and stating that they need to be reviewed entirely with the help of large series and keeping in mind seasonal forms.

That said, your spotless specimen from Kayonza Forest (W. Uganda) would be considered as belonging to ssp. basilewskyi.
The other specimen from Mt. Kadam would be the nominate ssp.
ssp kenia is only found on Mt. Kenya, which is -unsurprisingly- in Kenya (central).
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Re: Colotis

Post by Cabintom »

daveuk wrote: Tue Aug 30, 2022 2:26 pm Colotis danae
South Africa.
A pair shown recto & verso & a larger male with data
C. danae is not found further south than northern Tanzania. In Kenya & Tanzania in overlaps with C. annae hildebrandtii, which can be easily distinguished by it's yellow-orange wing tips (as opposed to red). In Southern Africa you find the nominate of annae, which like danae has red-tipped wings.

.
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Re: Colotis

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Thank You for all that information. It seems a lot of revision has been done on the genus which I am completely unaware of. For instance I thought hildebrandtii a full species. I have just one imperfect male specimen of that one. My late friend Danny Burke had a whole series in his collection including some amazing females. Have taken a picture of my male which is attached.to this reply with data.
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Re: Colotis

Post by daveuk »

Colotis evagore antigone. Uganda. Two males (?)
Colotis evenina casta. Tanzania. A male & two female forms
Colotis euippe omphale. South Africa. Two males
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Re: Colotis

Post by Trehopr1 »

This is an especially nice thread on a genus of butterflies I have always enjoyed seeing in the pages of books. I've never had opportunity to acquire any of them myself because these have largely been absent from most dealer lists here over the years !

Many nice species pictured here. Although, most are striking to see I'd have to "tip my hat" to those purple tipped species (ione + regina) for being my stand-alone favorites.

Thanks so much to daveUK and cabintom for allowing us all to enjoy their wonderful acquisitions and intimate knowledge of these butterflies.
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Re: Colotis

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Trehopr1 wrote: Tue Aug 30, 2022 6:12 pm This is an especially nice thread on a genus of butterflies I have always enjoyed seeing in the pages of books. I've never had opportunity to acquire any of them myself because these have largely been absent from most dealer lists here over the years !

Many nice species pictured here. Although, most are striking to see I'd have to "tip my hat" to those purple tipped species (ione + regina) for being my stand-alone favorites.

Thanks so much to daveUK and cabintom for allowing us all to enjoy their wonderful acquisitions and intimate knowledge of these butterflies.
Thanks for those kind words trehopr. A real pleasure for me to be able to take pictures of some in my collection & share them with the forum. Cabintom is really so knowledgeable on African butterflies in general & I am forever in his debt for helping me by way of this forum to fill in the wide gaps in my knowledge.
My late friend & Forum member Danny Burke from South Bend Indiana loved the genus Colotis in addition to his well known fondness for Delias.I have chatted to him about Colotis many times & was lucky enough to see his amazing specimens from this genus when I visited him in 2016. I feel sure he would have approved of this thread & contributed to it from his wonderful collection & wealth of knowledge.
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Re: Colotis

Post by daveuk »

Colotis regina. South Africa
My only specimens of this species from South Africa are these two males. Quite unlike the regina I have from other parts of Africa. Slightly smaller & with wing tips of a more reddish lilac colour. Yet again my photos do not really do them justice.
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Re: Colotis

Post by daveuk »

Colotis phisadia.
A pair from an old collection. According to data this pair were collected in Sudan during the second World War.
They appear fragile so I photographed the male verso holding the fairly substantial pin the specimen is on in my hand
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Re: Colotis

Post by daveuk »

Correction. I posted a picture of these two Colotis aurigineus earlier in this thread as two males from Tanzania. They are in fact a pair. The one shown verso is a female. As you can see from the data they come from Malawi & not Tanzania as first stated.
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Re: Colotis

Post by africaone »

Cabintom wrote: Mon Aug 29, 2022 11:45 am I'm not sure about the female, but your male Colotis ione from South Africa looks more like C. erone to me. What's the data for that pair?
Tomas is right it is a male of erone (may take a picture of the underside also unsimilar with ione)
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Re: Colotis

Post by africaone »

daveuk wrote: Tue Aug 30, 2022 5:11 pm Thank You for all that information. It seems a lot of revision has been done on the genus which I am completely unaware of. For instance I thought hildebrandtii a full species. I have just one imperfect male specimen of that one. My late friend Danny Burke had a whole series in his collection including some amazing females. Have taken a picture of my male which is attached.to this reply with data.
hildebrandti is just a color form of annae, both color forms occurs together (and I have one from Botswana)
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Re: Colotis

Post by africaone »

daveuk wrote: Wed Aug 31, 2022 7:04 am Colotis regina. South Africa
My only specimens of this species from South Africa are these two males. Quite unlike the regina I have from other parts of Africa. Slightly smaller & with wing tips of a more reddish lilac colour. Yet again my photos do not really do them justice.
probably dry season form
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Re: Colotis

Post by mcheki »

I find that when studying forms and colour variations within the same species and also between similar species it is much easier if they are seen side by side, rather than just as individual specimens. For example, have I got the specimens in these drawers in their correct places?
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Re: Colotis

Post by Trehopr1 »

WOW !!😯

That is very, very impressive to see that many differing species so nicely curated in someone's collection.

I love them ALL and the presentation is top notch !

Bravo 👏👏🎉
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Re: Colotis

Post by daveuk »

Wonderful collection. Beautifully curated 👏👏👏
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