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Robert Warren, who has been very active in studying Nigerian butterflies for the past six years, has prepared the following guide for aspiring lepidopterists. Robert is available to consult on tours of Okomu for naturalists with a special interest in butterflies. For more information, contact info@okomuecoresort.com
Okomu National Park is at present the best place for viewing butterflies in Western Nigeria. There are a number of other locations in Western Nigeria where the species diversity is just as high (almost 700 species are estimated to be present in Okomu). However, the quality of conservation in Okomu is better than in any of the remaining Forest Reserves, so time spent in the field here is invariably undisturbed. Furthermore, moist rainforest, as found at Okomu, is the habitat of most of the large, brightly coloured butterfly species found in Africa. These attributes, together with the ease of access, and the quality of accommodation now present in Okomu, mean that there is no better place for readily observing a large variety of beautiful butterflies easily.
You can rapidly learn the groupings of the more common species present, using the descriptions and pictures provided here, under ‘What you can expect to see’, and in time you will be able to develop the skills to differentiate amongst the species. At this point you should, without too much difficulty, be able to spot five butterflies that are regularly found in Okomu, but which you are unlikely to see anywhere else on your travels. As good fortune has it, four of them can most easily be found along the streambed just below the accommodation centre at Arakhuan, while the fifth can be seen on any of the main trails. See the section titled ‘The Okomu Five’.
As your interest in butterflies progresses and you want to learn more, there is only one book that can possibly satisfy your interest. The definitive word on all the butterflies that can be seen at Okomu, and beyond, was published in 2006, and is available via the internet.
‘Butterflies of West Africa’ by Torben B. Larsen (ISBN 87-88757-43-9) provides excellent photographs of all of the West African species, and the accompanying text (which combines outstanding scholarship with anecdotes and humour ) will take you just as far as you want to go with your new-found hobby.
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What you can expect to see
‘BRUSHFOOTS’ (NYMPHALILDAE) are a family of butterflies that abound in moist rainforest. They are medium in size and have a strong flight. Typically, you will disturb them about fifteen yards in front of you, but they will often stay along the forest trails, so with patience you can get close enough to recognise them. The ones you will be able to identify most readily are:
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The Foresters (Euphaedra)
Probably the first butterfly that will really impress you in Okomu will be one of the Euphaedra. The uppersides of most of the species in this group all have the same characteristics: a yellow or white bar or blob on the forewing and a large green-blue, slightly metallic, patch over much of the rest of the wings. You will see them first as a green-blue flash as a butterfly catches the sunlight. The undersides (seen below on the right) are often yellow and green with black spots, and several of the species have a distinctive red spot below.
Look out for the one where the yellow forewing patch is almost circular (bottom butterfly, fourth column in left-hand picture). Underneath the red spot is clearly outlined in black. This is the The Janetta Themis Forester (Euphaedra janetta). |
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The Foresters (Bebearia)
The second set of medium-sized, fast flying butterflies are generally somewhat duller in colour. Anything that skits away low down along the ground once you get within twenty feet or so of it, and has brown, yellow, blue/purple or green colouring, but without the distinctive iridescence of the Euphaedra, is likely to be Bebearia. There are two important Bebearia in Okomu (see under ‘The Okomu Five’ ).
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The Gliders (Cymothoe)
Look out for a stunning small, all red butterfly. This is likely to be The Common Red Glider (Cymothoe coccinata). Another one of the Gliders is named after Okomu and can be found below under ‘The Okomu Five’.
The remaining Cymothoe at Okomu are larger than the Common Red Glider. They are often quite delicately patterned, and they fly higher than the Foresters, but not particularly fast. |
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The Acraeidae
These are easy to identify. Their wings are elongated, and many species have transparent patches. The have a slow flight a metre or two off the ground, and they are not particularly wary of humans.
One you are quite likely to see is the Common Bematistes (Acraea epaea): female above, male below. |
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The Charaxes
In terms of speed, nothing outstrips the Charaxes. You may feel the vibrations from their powerful wings as they pass, but most of the time you are unlikely to see much more than a departing blur. However, they are addicted to rotting substances (fruit for the females, anything foul-smelling for the males). So occasionally, by accident, as you are walking along, you may kick up a cluster of them feeding on monkey, or civet, droppings. Their addiction is so strong that if you step back a few yards, you will only have to wait one or two minutes before they return, allowing close-up study, so long as you keep still. |
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The Common Blue Charaxes (Charaxes tiridates)
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The Bush Browns (Bicyclus)
These are just what they say they are: brown (and rather dull). However, you are more certain to see representatives of this genus than any other, as they are common, and will fly with or without strong sunlight. Look out for a small, dark brown butterfly, moving low down with a bobbing motion.
The bobbing is a dead give-away for the bush browns. Follow one until it settles (which shouldn’t be too long), and step in close. You’ll be able to see the line of circles on the underside that are as characteristic as their bobbing flight. Content yourself with having identified a ‘Bicyclus’, as further differentiation into species is a difficult task, often requiring evaluation of hair-tufts on the surface of the wings, using a hand-lens. |
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The ‘SWALLOWTAILS AND SWORDTAILS’ (PAPILIONIDAE) are also generally restricted to good quality forest. They are the largest of the butterflies (about fist size). The two you are most likely to see in Okomu both have bright blue/ green stripes on a dark, almost black background. If it’s got a long thin tail, it will certainly be The Common Striped Swordtail (Graphium policenes).
If it has no tail, and the blue/ green is in a band running down the middle of the wings, then it will be one of three Swallowtails, possibly The Medium-Banded Green Swallowtail (Papilio sosia), which sometimes sits on the sandy road at Arakhuan. |
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| ‘WHITES AND SULPHURS’ (PIERIDAE) are small to medium-sized butterflies with combinations of yellow, white and black. There are many species in this family and they are hard to differentiate to begin with. Look out for a small white flapping butterfly that hardly ever lands, but flies so slowly you’ll be able to walk right up to it. They rarely fly much above one meter off the ground, and you will usually see many together. It flies all day long and, unlike most butterflies, will be out and about even without any sunshine. This will be The African Spirit (Leptosia alcesta) or one of its closely-related species. |
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The ‘BLUES AND COPPERS’ (LYCAENIDAE) can be used as a term to summarise almost all of the small butterflies. There are so many that it may be best to start by looking out for just one of them, which is fairly common in Okomu and is most distinctive. It is called The Common False Head (Oxylides faunus). What will first impress you is the long wispy tails on the hind wing. Take a closer look and you’ll see a black spot where the tails join the wing. To a bird the spot looks like the eye of the butterfly, and the tails look like the antennae. If you are fortunate enough to see this butterfly land, you will notice that right on landing it always twist 180 degrees around. Any attacking bird will go for the false head, giving it a beakful of wing only, while the butterfly lives to see another day! The picture here is of another one of the False Heads. The Common False Head itself has very round wings, and the upperside of the male is a stunning deep metallic blue. |
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| The ‘SKIPPERS (HESPERIIDAE)’. These are quite different to any of the butterflies mentioned so far. They are all small and usually rather weird looking. In flight they buzz around extremely fast, and then settle so quickly that you won’t know where they have landed. But if you do see it land, its posture will usually identify it as a Skipper – the wings are either half open/ half closed, or with the wings folded back. Their antennae usually have a small hook to the end, which is not the case in any other family of butterflies. Pictured here is the Blue Red Eye (Pteroteinon laufella), which has a blue/dusky mauve colour on the upperside. Many Skippers are rather dull browns and oranges. |
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The Okomu Five
These five butterflies are very scarce in West Africa, but you stand a good chance of finding them in Okomu. Spot any one of these, and you’ve moved up a league in the butterfly world!
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1. The Large Lurid Glider (Cymothoe hypatha okomu)
This is the first butterfly named after Okomu. The females in Okomu look different to the ones seen elsewhere (hence it gets the subspecies name ‘okomu’). It is a large butterfly with a fairly slow floppy flight, and it likes to settle. The male on the other hand is medium in size and is yellow, with a rich, almost black, patch close to the body, and it doesn’t usually sit still. |
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2. The Orange Lurid Glider (Cymothoe hesiodotus nigeriensis)
This butterfly is only found in Western Nigeria in good forest, and many museum collections do not have it. But it is very common in Okomu. The male is easy to spot – medium in size and a bright ochreous orange in colour when the wings are open. You will see it commonly on the edge of the logging trails, perched a couple of metres above the ground. |
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3. Staudinger’s Forester (Bebearia staudingeri)
Until recently this butterfly was barely known from Nigeria (there are only two specimens from Nigeria in the entire British Museum collection). But recently it was found in Okomu, and bait will bring it out along the streambed at Arakhuan. Look for that distinctive diagonal underside stripe that can be seen in the picture of the male here. The female is larger, but it has the same give-away stripe. |
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| 4. The Nigerian Blue Forester (Euphaedra luperca) This butterfly can easily be distinguished from the other Euphaedra by the steely green-blue upperside, and a pink streak (not a large pink patch) on the underside. Again this butterfly will come to bait on the Arakhuan streambed. This is a very rare butterfly generally, but it has a stronghold in Okomu. |
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5. The Flaminia Forester (Bebearia flaminia leventisi)
This is the second butterfly that belongs to Okomu. The male specimens found in Okomu are distinctively different to those found elsewhere, meriting its subspecific status ‘leventisi’ (named after the philanthropist Tasso Leventis). You will see the male around the middle of the day, perched up to the side of the trails. While it is a rather dark brown colour, like many other butterflies, the mild charcoal overlay, and its rapid jousting flight will help you pick it out. The white tip on the forewing looks very sharp in the field. |
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…and some hints to improve your chances
Many of the more beautiful butterflies are attracted to various kinds of bait. While some of these require preparation, and others are frankly disgusting, you will do extremely well with nothing less than fresh pawpaw. Cut it up into chunks and sprinkle a handful on the ground. If you tip toe back a couple of hours later, you will not be disappointed, especially if you use binoculars (get any closer than 15 feet and you will disturb the butterflies).
If you stroll along the main North-South road through Okomu you have a high chance of observing ‘mud-puddling’. Huge numbers of butterflies converge on damp patches in the dry season to suck on the minerals. If truth be told, the clustering is not always just around natural puddles. In fact it’s more commonly where passing trucks have stopped for their passengers to urinate. But the reward of these swarming clusters of spectacular butterflies should be enough to help you put that out of your mind.
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