Bematistes vestalis

Smoky bematistes
Illustrations from Felder and Felder's Reise der Österreichischen Fregatte Novara
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Bematistes
Species:	B. vestalis
Binomial name
Bematistes vestalis Felder & Felder, 1865[1]
Synonyms
Acraea vestalis Felder & Felder, 1865 Acraea (Acraea) vestalis Planema vestalis congoensis Le Doux, 1937 Planema vestalis stavelia Suffert, 1904 Planema umbra ab. fasciata Aurivillius, 1913

Bematistes vestalis, the smoky bematistes, is a butterfly in the Nymphalidae family. It is found in Senegal, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania.^[2] The habitat consists of lowland forests.

This species is mimicked by the striata morph of Pseudacraea eurytus.

The larvae feed on Adenia cisampelloides.

Subspecies

• Bematistes vestalis vestalis (Senegal, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria)
• Bematistes vestalis congoensis (Le Doux, 1937) (Democratic Republic of the Congo: Lualaba and Lushala), western Tanzania)
• Bematistes vestalis stavelia (Suffert, 1904) (Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo: north-west to Mongala)

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bematistes vestalis.

Wikispecies has information related to: Bematistes vestalis

External links

• Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 58 e
• Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 59 a stavelia
• Images representing Acraea vestalis at Bold