Bematistes aganice
Encyclopedia
The Wanderer is a butterfly
of the Nymphalidae
family. It is found in southern and south-eastern Africa
.
The wingspan
is 60–65 mm for males and 70–75 mm for females. Adults are on wing year round, but are more common from October/November to March.
The larvae feed on Passiflora edulis
, Passiflora incarnata
, Passiflora caerulea
and Adenia gummifera.
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
of the Nymphalidae
Nymphalidae
The Nymphalidae is a family of about 5,000 species of butterflies which are distributed throughout most of the world. These are usually medium sized to large butterflies. Most species have a reduced pair of forelegs and many hold their colourful wings flat when resting. They are also called...
family. It is found in southern and south-eastern Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.
The wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
is 60–65 mm for males and 70–75 mm for females. Adults are on wing year round, but are more common from October/November to March.
The larvae feed on Passiflora edulis
Passiflora edulis
Passiflora edulis is a vine species of passion flower that is native to Paraguay, Brazil and northern Argentina . Its common names include passion fruit and passionfruit...
, Passiflora incarnata
Passiflora incarnata
Passiflora incarnata, commonly known as maypop, purple passionflower, true passionflower, wild apricot, and wild passion vine, is a fast growing perennial vine with climbing or trailing stems. A member of the passionflower genus Passiflora, the maypop has large, intricate flowers with prominent...
, Passiflora caerulea
Passiflora caerulea
Passiflora caerulea, commonly known as the Blue Passion Flower or the Common Passion Flower, is a vine native to South America...
and Adenia gummifera.
Subspecies
- Bematistes aganice aganice (Cape to KwaZulu-Natal, Transvaal, southern Mozambique, eastern Zimbabwe)
- Bematistes aganice montana (Butler, 1888) (from eastern Kenya to northern Tanzania)
- Bematistes aganice nicega Suffert (southern Tanzania, southern Zaire (Shaba), north-eastern Zambia, northern Malawi)
- Bematistes aganice nyassae Carpenter (southern Malawi)
- Bematistes aganice orientalis Ungemach (south-western Ethiopia, southern Sudan, northern Uganda)
- Bematistes aganice ugandae van Someren, 1936 (northern shore of Lake Victoria)