www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

I'm lucky that my local library has many unaffordable books such as Birds of the Western Palearctic, however one
unaffordable title they do not have is Butterflies of Kenya by Larsen. It's £375 on amazon...

Last month I was in Kenya and have a few pictures of butterflies. Most would not land at all in the heat, and those that
did were not easy to photograph (tropical forest floors are pretty lacking in light!).
I'd be thankful if anyone can help me with IDs (or better still lend me the book). If you can't help with IDs, just enjoy
the snaps. Oh and by the way, Kenya is a most excellent country - brilliant people and wildlife

Thanks in advance for any help

Alexander Henderson

1. Is this Zizula hylax?
2. Zizula hylax?
3. I'm almost certain this is Papilio nireus, a butterfly I studied at university - excellent to see it alive in the forest!
Even when nectaring, it didn't stop beating its wings, so this is taken at 1/2500s to freeze the motion.
4. This is a Graphium, but is it polycenes, polystratus or porthaon?
5. Phalanta phalantha?
6. Hypolimnas misippus (male)
7. Euphaedra neophron. The purple in fresh specimens made then much less camophlaged
8. Graphium philonoe?
9. Euryphura achlis.
10. Hypolimnas anthedon or maybe Amauris niavius.. not sure.
11. Pentila tropicalis?
12. Leptotes pirithous?
13. Danaus chrysippus (male)?
14. Danaus chrysippus (male)?
15. Grass Blue sp?
16. same specimen as no15.
17. probably same species as no16.
18. Acraea sp...natalica or matuapa or ??
19. possibly Euphaedra hybrida or Hypolimnas misippus (f)??
20. Belenois aurota?
21. Junonia natalica?
22. Axiocerses punicea?
23. ??
24. Junonia oenone
25. Junonia oenone
26. Teriomima micra? These tiny ones were hanging off just one bush.

The first blue is surely hylax, as you suggest, but the second one isn't. One characteristic of hylax (a species I saw in India, where it looked just the same as yours - so perhaps not much variation in that species) is the 'c' shape towards the apex of the forewing. That is quite lacking in your second insect. That looks far more like Zizeeria than Zizula, though it could be one of the others beginning with 'Z'! I haven't got a comprehensive book of African butterflies (though I have got a comprehensive list of species).

The Graphium looks like porthaon, judging by the narrow, slightly wavy markings in the forewing cell and the overall creaminess.

The Phalanta looks weakly marked for phalanta, but not weakly enough for the rarer eurytis.

23 looks like J. natalica to me, like 21.

The Leptotes looks OK for pirithous to me but there are other species in Kenya, like marginalis, which fits the contrast better.

Back to Silent Witness...

Guy

Some superb shots there, but at £375, I concur that the book itself is beyond a luxury.

I can imagine Kenya being a trove for butterflies, being equatorial but with swathes of high altitude territory.

Great pictures of fantastic butterflies. Now I want to go to Kenya! You did well to catch those pictures given the light conditions and I can imagine the butterflies not stopping for long in the heat.

Great set of images of some stunning butterflies. Reminds me very much of the butterflies I used to see when fishing in Uganda and Congo a few years ago.

I have a very good book on butterflies of South Africa which covers a lot of the species found in Africa I believe. Much more affordable at £14! http://www.amazon.co.uk/Field-Guide-But ... 1868727246

From that I agree with the ID's above.

Thanks all for your input and comments.

Alex