Conservation of Butterflies in South Africa s SA Entomological Journal - Invertebrates. Vol. 1 Pages 8-12 Ramsgate September 2004

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1 Conservation of Butterflies in South Africa s SA Entomological Journal - Invertebrates Vol 1 Pages 8-12 Ramsgate September 2004 Eurytela dryope angulata 217 (Cramer) First record of Eurytela dryope angulata (Golden Piper/Oranjelintbosvlieër) forms from Southern Africa, with the descriptions of two new forms of the species Eurytela dryope angulata Earle Whiteley *1 Conservation of Butterflies in South Africa (CBISA), PO Box 599, Ramsgate, 4285: info@cbisacoza Kwa-Zulu Natal ABSTRACT The first finds of Eurytela in South Africa are documented and four new forms of the species Eurytela of this genus, while f antropus, f falthami, and f lintha lowland coastal in distribution show affinities to its true genus and species KEY WORDS: Eurytela, dryope, angulata, antropus, falthami, lintha, golden piper, oranjelintbosvlieër, new forms, South Africa INTRODUCTION The earliest records of this butterfly are taken in South Africa on the 4 th Lourenҫo Marques (Maputo), Mozambique January, 1952, by H Cookson at MATERIAL AND METHODS Food-plants: Tragia glabrata, Dalechampia capensis and Rivinuc communis Appearance: Throughout the year Distribution: Eastern Cape (Port St Johns) to Kwa-Zulu Natal coast and midlands through the escarpment to Mpumalanga, Limpopo and further north into Mozambique Description: Golden Piper, Oranjelintbosvlieër Wingspan: ( ) 42-48; ( ) 45-50mm Originally described by (Cramer) in 1775 as Papilio dryope and re-described by Aurivillus in 1899 as Eurytela dryope var angulata aurivillius, 1899, K svenka VetenskAkad Handl (NF) 31 (5): i 217ii 217iii 217iv 217v 217vi 217vii 217viii 8

2 217ix 217x 217xi 217xii 217xiii 217xiv 217xv 217xvi The golden piper is a dark-brown butterfly with a broad orange or rich-gold sub-marginal band, wider on the hindwing but two-thirds of the way to the apex The hindwing has a scalloped outer margin and, as in the pied piper, the scalloping is bordered with a narrow brown band The female is lighter in colour than the male Flying all year round, the golden piper is found in much the same situations as the pied piper and has similar habits; its flight, however, is a little more robust, and it is often found some distance away from the forest edge Females are reluctant to lay eggs in captivity, but when they do, I have found that they only lay a small number These can be easily hatched and the larvae reared if the humidity within the breeding box is kept to a minimum This can be difficult with such food-plants as Ricinus communis, the castor-oil plant, which tends to lose its moisture rapidly, with resultant condensation on the sides and lid of the breeding boxes Eurytela dryope angulata (wf) a) (217i and 217ii) The male ( ) wet form (wf) of the golden piper is an attractive medium-sized darkbrown (ground colour) butterfly with a narrow orange or rich-gold sub-marginal band, wider on the hindwing but tapering on the forewing and stopping about two-thirds of the way to the Apex The outer margin of the hindwing has a scalloped border with a narrow brown band The scalloping is larger than that of its relative Eurytela hiarbas angustata The underside is mottled with different shades of dark brown and white The lighter orangecreamy segmented band appears in the same position as on the upperside as an orange or rich orange band b) (217iii and 217iv) The female ( ) wet form (wf) of the golden piper is an attractive medium-sized brown (ground colour) butterfly with a narrow orange or rich-gold sub-marginal band, wider on the hindwing but tapering on the forewing and stopping about two-thirds of the way to the apex The outer margin of the hindwing has a scalloped border with a narrow brown band The scalloping is larger than that of its relative Eurytela hiarbas angustata The underside is mottled with different shades of dark brown and white The lighter orange-creamy band appears in the same position as on the upperside as an orange or rich orange band 9

3 Eurytela dryope angulata f antropus (if) a) (217v and 217vi) The male ( ) intermediate form (if) of the golden piper is an attractive mediumsized dark-brown (ground colour) butterfly with a broader orange or rich-gold sub-marginal band, wider on the hindwing but tapering on the forewing and stopping about two-thirds of the way to the apex The broader band permeates deeper into the dark brown ground colour closer to the peripheral edge of the hindwing The outer margin of the hindwing has a scalloped bordered with a narrow brown band The scalloping is larger than that of its relative Eurytela hiarbas angustata The underside is less mottled with different shades of dark brown and white The lighter orange segmented band appears in the same position as on the upperside as an orange or rich orange band b) (217vii and 217viii) The female ( ) intermediate with a broader orange or rich-gold sub-marginal band, wider on the hindwing but tapering on the forewing and stopping about two-thirds of the way to the apex The broader band permeates deeper into the dark brown ground colour closer to the peripheral edge of the hindwing The outer margin of the hindwing has a scalloped bordered with a narrow brown band The scalloping is larger than that of its relative Eurytela hiarbas angustata The underside is less mottled with different shades of dark brown and white The lighter orange band appears in the same position as on the upperside as an orange or rich orange band Eurytela dryope angulata f lintha (if) a) (217ix and 217x) The male ( ) intermediate medium-sized dark-brown (ground colour) butterfly with an even broader orange or richgold sub-marginal band, wider on the hindwing but two-thirds of the way to the apex The even broader band permeates deeper into the dark brown ground colour closer to the peripheral edge of the hindwing, leaving a small portion of the dark-brown ground colour visible The outer margin of the hindwing has a scalloped bordered with a narrow brown band The scalloping is larger than that of its relative Eurytela hiarbas angustata The underside is less mottled shades of dark brown and no white The lighter orange segmented band appears in the same position as on the upperside as an orange or rich orange band b) (217xi and 217xii) The female ( ) intermediate with an even broader orange or rich-gold submarginal band, wider on the hindwing but two-thirds of the way to the apex The even broader band permeates deeper into the dark brown ground colour closer to the peripheral edge of the hindwing, leaving a small portion of the dark-brown ground colour visible The outer margin of the hindwing has a scalloped bordered with a narrow brown band The scalloping is larger than that of its relative Eurytela hiarbas angustata The underside is less mottled shades of dark brown and no white The lighter orange band appears in the same position as on the upperside as an orange or rich orange band 10

4 Eurytela dryope angulata f falthami (df) a) (217xii and 217xiv) The male ( ) dry form (df) of the golden piper is an attractive mediumsized dark-brown (ground colour) butterfly with an extremely broad orange or rich-gold sub-marginal band, wider on the hindwing but two-thirds of the way to the apex The broad band reaches the peripheral edge of the hindwing, leaving no portion of the dark-brown ground colour visible The outer margin of the hindwing has a scalloped bordered with a narrow brown band The scalloping is larger than that of its relative Eurytela hiarbas angustata The underside is even less mottled shades of dark brown and no white The lighter orange band appears to virtually have disappeared b) (217xvi and 217xvii) The female ( ) dry form (df) of the golden piper is an attractive with a extremely broad orange or rich-gold sub-marginal band, wider on the hindwing but two-thirds of the way to the apex The broad band reaches the peripheral edge of the hindwing, leaving no portion of the dark-brown ground colour visible The outer margin of the hindwing has a scalloped bordered with a narrow brown band The scalloping is larger than that of its relative Eurytela hiarbas angustata The underside is even less mottled shades of dark brown and no white The lighter orange band appears to virtually have disappeared GENERAL REMARKS ON SPECIES This butterfly specie has been found to be rather common in the Eastern Cape (Port St Johns) to Kwa-Zulu Natal coast and midlands and more elusive therefore scarcer through the escarpment to Mpumalanga, Limpopo and further north into Mozambique It has similar traits to that of Eurytela hiarbas angustata, including its flight pattern and flight pathways AKNOWLEDGEMENTS Lizanne R Hattingh, a young lady student for her assistance in transportation and help with collecting specimens and host plants for breeding of Eurytela dryope angulata and its forms Earnest Pringle, the author of Pennington s Butterflies of Southern Africa, for his assistance in the encouragement of writing this paper and his keen eye of observation Steve Collins from Nairobi, and expert in the genus, who believes that these new forms need to be recognized Deryck E Whitely, who help me study the form and help with collecting and breeding specimens and data of other specimens for the describing of the forms Dr David Edge from the Brenton Blue project in Knysna, for his opinions and suggestions as to how to go about our research Dr Reinier Terblanch for his encouragement on the study of the species Dr Mike Mstovski from the Natal Museum for his participation in the development of progress in the discovery of forms in this paper REFERENCES 1 In the publication of Steve Woodhall, Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa, 2005, page 128, with plates (2a, and 2b), it shows the specimens and their descriptions similar to the specimens marked in this paper as 217i ( ) and 217ii ( ) 11

5 2 The publication of Ivor Migdoll, Field Guide to the Butterflies of Southern Africa, 1987, page 166, with plates on page 60 (60a and 60b), shows the specimens and their descriptions similar to the specimens marked in this paper as 217i ( )and 217ii ( ) 3 In the publication, Pennington s Butterflies of Southern Africa, 1994, page 115 with plates on page 539 and 541 (217ai and 217aii), shows the specimens and their descriptions similar to the specimens marked in this paper as 216i ( ) and 217ii ( ) and 217xv( ) 4 In the publication of Bernard D Abrera FRES, Butterflies of the Afrotropical Region, 1980, page 242, shows the specimens and their descriptions similar to the specimens marked in this paper as 217i ( ) and 217ii ( ) 5 In the book of Dr David A Swanepoel, Butterflies of Southern Africa 1953, page 126, with plates Pl XI, fig 17, shows the specimens and their descriptions similar to the specimens marked in this paper as 217i ( ) and 217ii ( ) and 217xi ( ) All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner(s) 12