Three species of Charaxes (C.etheocles, C.cynthia, C.tiridates) on a forest path, Semuliki, Uganda
On my recent visit to Uganda I was distracted from the birds I had come to see by Butterflies. Partly this was because I had finally managed to get hold of a guidebook with which I could (tentatively) identify what I was seeing; but mostly the sheer abundance and beauty of Tropical Rainforest Lepidoptera was simply irresistable.
I am hoping to set up a trip in search of the rarest and most wonderful African Butterfly – the African Giant Swallowtail. It has a wingspan of over 20 centimetres (!) and can be seen in lower altitude forests in Western Uganda (which are also great places for Birds, Great Apes and other wildlife).
Anyone interested? Just drop me a line ( davidnartan[at]gmail[dot]com )
Meanwhile here’s a small selection of Ugandan Butterflies:
Orange Forester (Euphaedra alacris) and Blue Mother-of-pearl ( Protogoniomorpha temora)
Blue Diadem (Hypolimnas salmacis) and Blue-banded Forester (Euphaedra harpalyce)
Broad-banded Commodore (Precis milonia) and Edward’s Forester (Euphaedra edwardsii)
Migratory Glider (Cymothoe herminia) and Common Yellow Glider (Cymothoe egesta)
Blue-spot Pansy (Junonia westermanni) and Common Pathfinder (Catuna crithea)
Citrus Swallowtail (Papilio demodocus) and Large Vagrant (Nepheronia argia)
Forest Mother-of-pearl (Protogoniomorpha parhassus) and Blotched Leopard (Lachnoptera anticlia)
Large Red-spot Ciliate Blue (Anthene lusones) and Savanna Pathfinder Skipper (Pardaleodes incerta)Common Leopards (Phalanta eurytis)Technatis Bush Brown (Bicyclus technatis) , Semuliki, Uganda Forest Mother-of-pearl (Protogoniomorpha parhassusMigrating African Caper Whites (Belenois aurota) A whole bunch of ’em
