InsectNet forum

Some Lycaenids for a change (albeit large ones).

Epitola urania Kirby, 1887

(female)
19/IX/2016 Mbau, Nord Kivu




Epitola uranoides uranoides Libert, 1999

(male)
26/VIII/2015 Mbau, Nord Kivu


(female)
25/VII/2015 Mbau, Nord Kivu

I'm curious: Do many African Lycaenids come to bait (rotten fish in particular)? This sometimes works surprisingly well in the neotropics, and I've
found the occasional Parrhasius m-album and Atlides halesus in rotten fruit bait traps in the southeastern US.

jh

Some Polyommatinae species do like to mud-puddle on ash, others where palm oil is pressed. Latrines also seem to attract certain species. I haven't purposefully set out bait for Lycaenids though, so I don't know if they can be baited like Charaxes, for example.

I have always found African lycaenidae in general very difficult to get hold of from dealers, breeders or collectors. Consequently I have but a handful of specimens of this family from that continent.

daveuk wrote: ↑Thu Sep 22, 2022 10:50 pm I have always found African lycaenidae in general very difficult to get hold of from dealers, breeders or collectors. Consequently I have but a handful of specimens of this family from that continent.

I have always found Lycaenids very tough to source from dealers... none of the old-time neotropical commercial collectors ever had them; I have had better luck getting SE asian and Japanese material. I've never even tried to find African Lycaenids to buy; the few I have I ran across mostly by accident.
jh

Huh... I was expecting these to be widely collected. They're among the most stunning of African species. Shows how much I know about the commercial market.

I have a single specimen of Epitola from Kenya which I got from a British dealer friend back in the 1980s. I have managed to get Lycaenidae from other parts of the world. Both self collected & purchased. Africa mostly eludes me as far as Lycaenidae are concerned.

I have to disagree with the above since I have had little problem obtaining Lycaenidae from local African collectors and from colleagues interested generally in butterflies. The range of species within Africa is tremendous and very varied. Below are two boxes of, at the moment, unsorted species. They originate from several African countries and will be added to the main collection in due course.
I apologise for the poor quality of the pictures, but I am not an expert photographer.

Lovely collection yet again. Glad you found some good contacts for these.

Just to give an idea of the diversity within Lycaenid species here are a couple of more specific drawers.

I took this picture in Uganda in 2018. I believe its in the genus Hewitsonia.

^^ that's an awesome photo.

wolf wrote: ↑Tue Sep 27, 2022 7:25 am I took this picture in Uganda in 2018. I believe its in the genus Hewitsonia.

Hewitsonia intermedia