Neptis saclava
Species of butterfly
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Neptis saclava, the spotted sailer, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is native to Madagascar and to large areas of sub-Saharan Africa.
| Spotted sailer | |
|---|---|
| |
 | |
| N. s. saclava of Madagascar (above) and N. saclava marpessa (below) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Clade: | Pancrustacea |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Nymphalidae |
| Genus: | Neptis |
| Species: | N. saclava |
| Binomial name | |
| Neptis saclava Boisduval, 1833 | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Its wingspan is 40–45 mm in males and 45–48 mm in females The hindwing beneath at the base with whitish ground-colour and numerous irregular light red-brown spots, more or less joined together; cell of the forewing above unicolorous or with small white dots, beneath white with irregular light red-brown markings; discal spot 4 of the forewing is absent or very small, dot-like; the hindmarginal spot of the forewing is. large and touches the spot in cellule 2 or is only narrowly separated from it; the median band of the hindwing is 4—-7 mm. in breadth. Madagascar[1] Images BOLD
Adults are on the wing year round with a peak from December to May.[2]
The larvae feed on Acalypha glabrata, Combretum bracteosum, Ricinus communis, Australina, and Pilea.[2][3]
Subspecies
Recognised subspecies:[3]
- N. s. saclava – Madagascar
- N. s. marpessa Hopffer, 1855 – small spotted sailer, native to southern Nigeria, Cameroon to Ethiopia to Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Eswatini, South Africa: Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape only differs [from s.saclava] a little in the narrower median band of the hindwing and the smaller, more widely sepa¬ rated, white spots on the forewing.
Taxonomy
It is a member of the Neptis metella Species group
