Precis octavia

• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Description

Family Nymphalidae

'The Nymphalidae are members of the Superfamily Papilionoidea, the true butterflies. Distributed worldwide, butterflies of this family are especially rich in the tropics. They are highly variable, and there are more species in this family than in any other. Adults vary in size from small to large, and their front legs are reduced, unable to be used for walking. Wing shape is also highly variable: some species have irregular margins (anglewings and commas), and others have long taillike projections (daggerwings). Browns, oranges, yellows, and blacks are frequent colors, while iridescent colors such as purples and blues are rare. Adults of some groups are the longest-lived butterflies, surviving 6-11 months. Adult feeding behavior depends on the species, where some groups primarily seek flower nectar while others only feed on sap flows , rotting fruit, dung, or animal carcasses. Males exhibit perching and patrolling behaviors when seeking mates. Egg-laying varies widely, as some species lay eggs in clustsers, others in columns, and others singly. Caterpillar appearance and behavior vary widely. Brushfoots overwinter as larvae or adults.

'[1]

Subfamily Nymphalinae

Brushfoots are the most prevalent members of the Family Nymphalinae. Distributed worldwide, this is a diverse group that contains several tribes , each with somewhat different structural and biological features. Adults of North American species are predominantly orange, brown, and black. Wing shape and mating systems are variable. Most checkerspots and crescentspots patrol for mates, while the remainder of groups exhibit either perching or perching and patrolling . Migration varies widely; some strong migrants are found in the lady butterflies, tortoiseshells, and anglewings, while other species are local in occurrence. Most species limit their host plants to a few species, but the Painted Lady has one of the widest host palettes of all butterflies. Eggs are laid singly or clustered in groups, and caterpillars be found feeding alone or communally. Brushfoots overwinter as young caterpillars or hibernating adults.[2]

Habitat

Biome: Terrestrial [3].

Ecology: The habitat of this butterfly is mainly savannah, often with rocky areas being preferred. In West Africa, it moves into the forest zone, where it apparently establishes temporary populations (Larsen 2005). However, generally this species is rarely found in forest and does not cope well with the driest type of Sahel or with subdesert, though sometimes occurring under oasis conditions. This butterfly utilizes a large number of larval host-plants from the Lamiaceae. During warmer spells, the dry-season form often visits gardens to feed from flowers (Larsen 2005).[3].

List of Habitats:

•     1     Forest   
  
•     1.5     Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Dry   
  
•     1.6     Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland   
  
•     2     Savanna   
  
•     2.1     Savanna - Dry   
  
•     2.2     Savanna - Moist   
  
•     6     Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs , mountain peaks)   
  
•     14     Artificial/Terrestrial   
  
•     14.4     Artificial/Terrestrial - Rural Gardens   
[more info]

Taxonomy

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

This butterfly has two subspecies called P. o. octavia and P. octavia sesamus.[3].

Similar Species

Members of the genus Precis

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 3 species and subspecies in this genus:

P. frobeniusi (Toothed Commodore) · P. octavia (Gaudy Commodore) · P. rauana (Montane Commodore)

More Info

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• Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books

Further Reading

• 2nd International congress of entomology, Oxford, August, 1912. .. Oxford, Printed by Hazell, Watson & Viney, Ld., 1913-14. url p. 352.
• Bibliography (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) / Charles A. Bridges. Urbana, Ill.: C.A. Bridges, c1993. url p. 284, p. 72.
• Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. New YorkAmerican Museum of Natural History1881- url p. 145, p. 146, p. 147, p. 150, p. 335, p. 365.
• International catalogue of scientific literature. LondonPublished for the International Council by the Royal Society of London1901-1920 url p. 605.
• Lepidoptera of the Congo: being a systematic list of the butterflies and moths collected by the American Museum of Natural History Congo Expedition: together with descriptions of some hitherto undescribed species. New York?, 1920 url p. 145, p. 146, p. 147, p. 150, p. 335, p. 365.
• Memoirs of the American Entomological Society. Philadelphia, American Entomological Society, 1916- url p. 33, p. 33.
• Mimicry in butterflies, Cambridge, University Press, 1915. url , .
• Mimicry in butterflies, by Reginald Crundall Punnett. .. Cambridge, University press, 1915. url p. 131, p. 188.
• Mimicry in butterflies. CambridgeUniversity Press1915 url , p. 131.
• On a collection of Sierra Leone lepidoptera / London: R. H. Porter, 1893 url p. 4.
• Proceedings and transactions of the British Entomological and Natural History Society. London, British Entomological and Natural History Society. url , p. 19, p. 41.
• Proceedings of the South London Entomological & Natural History Society. London [Eng]: South London Entomological and Natural history Society, [1897-1933] url , p. 2, p. 52.
• South African journal of natural history. Pretoria, South African Biological Society. url p. 101, p. 75, p. 88, p. 89.
• The Annals and magazine of natural history; zoology, botany, and geology being a continuation of the Annals combined with Loudon and Charlesworth's Magazine of Natural History. London, Taylor and Francis, Ltd. url p. 205, p. 30, p. 30, p. 31, p. 31, p. 51, p. 51, p. 59, p. 59.
• The Entomologist's monthly magazine. Oxford [etc.]Entomologist's Monthly Magazine Ltd. [etc.] url , p. 139, p. 40.
• The Entomologist's record and journal of variation. s.l., s.n. url , , , , p. 100, p. 111, p. 113, p. 122, p. 211, p. 258, p. 261, p. 262, p. 265, p. 270, p. 56, p. 65, p. 67, p. 68, p. 99.
• The Entomologist. London: Simpkin, Marshall & Co., [1877- url p. 134, p. 134, p. 46, p. 7, p. 7.
• The Hope reports. Oxford: Printed for private circulation, 1897-1958. url , p. 103, p. 11, p. 12, p. 328, p. 34, p. 420, p. 667, p. 7.
• The biology of insects, by George H. Carpenter. .. New York, The Macmillan Company, 1928. url , p. 370, p. 371, p. 471.
• Transactions of the Entomological Society of London. London, The Society. url , , , , , , p. 103, p. 187, p. 274, p. 328, p. 332, p. 332, p. 399, p. 420, p. 56, p. 667, p. 667.

Notes

Contributors

• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 31, 2012.
• Larsen, T.B. 2011. Precis octavia. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloadedon 04February2012.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 26, 2008:

• National Institute of Genetics, ROIS: Entomological Specimens of Museum of Nature and Human Activities, Hyogo Pref., Japan

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2973551
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Lep-157744.0
• IUCN ID: 235427
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 1564702

Footnotes

1. http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/taxonomy?f=18&sci=Nymphalidae&com=Brush-footed Butterflies [back]
2. http://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Editha&search=Search [back]
3. Larsen, T.B. 2011. Precis octavia. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 04 February 2012. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.