Elymniopsis

Elymniopsis is a monotypic butterfly genus in the family Nymphalidae. It contains only one species, Elymniopsis bammakoo, the African palmfly.

Elymniopsis
Elymniopsis bammakoo bammakoo, Ghana
Elymniopsis bammakoo rattrayi, Kibale Forest, Uganda
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Elymniopsis Fruhstorfer, 1907
Species:	E. bammakoo
Binomial name
Elymniopsis bammakoo (Westwood, [1851])
Synonyms
Melanitis bammakoo Westwood, [1851] Elymnias bammakoo Papilio phegea Fabricius, 1793 Elymnias phegea var. intermedia Aurivillius, 1899 Elymnias phegea ab. angustata Bartel, 1905 Elymniopsis bammakoo var. hybrida Niepelt, 1915 Papilio lise Hemming, 1960 Elymnias rattrayi Sharpe, 1902 Elymnias bammakoo rattrayi Elymnias ugandae Grünberg, 1908

Range and habitat

It is found in Senegal, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, Angola, the DRC, Uganda and Tanzania. The habitat consists of forests.

Description

Adults resemble Acraea poggei in flight. The white form of bammakoo mimics the female of Papilio cynorta.

Food

Adults are attracted to fermented bananas and have also been recorded imbibing sap from wounds in trees. The larvae feed on Elaeis guineensis, Phoenix reclinata and Raphia hookeri.

Subspecies

• Elymniopsis bammakoo bammakoo

Range: Senegal, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Central African Republic, Angola, DRC

• Elymniopsis bammakoo rattrayi (Sharpe, 1902)

Range: eastern DRC, western Uganda, north-western Tanzania

Elymniopsis bammakoo bammakoo & Elymniopsis bammakoo rattrayi (far right)