Amauris niavius

Amauris niavius, known as The Friar, is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family. It is found in the forests of tropical Africa.

The wingspan is 80–85 mm for males and 78-82 for females. Adults are on wing year round (with peaks in late summer and autumn).^[1]

The larvae feed on Cynanchum (including Cynanchum medium, Cynanchum nigrum and Cynanchum vincetoxicum), Gymnema (including Gymnema sylvestre), Marsdenia, Secamone, Tylophora and Ipomoea. Larvae of ssp. dominicanus feed on Gymnema sylvestre^[2].

Subspecies

• Amauris niavius niavius (from western Kenya to Zaire, Angola, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Fernando Póo (Macías Nguema Island))
• Amauris niavius dominicanus Trimen, 1879 (Natal, Mozambique, from Rhodesia to Malawi, eastern Tanzania and Kenya east of the Rift Valley)
• Amauris niavius aethiops Rothschild & Jordan, 1903 (Ethiopia, northern Uganda, southern Sudan)

References