Bematistes Hemming, 1935

Williams, Mark C. & Henning, Graham A., 2023, Taxonomic revision of the tribe Acraeini Boisduval, 1833 (Papilionoidea: Nymphalidae: Heliconiinae), Metamorphosis 34 (1), pp. 35-49 : 42-43

Genus Bematistes Hemming, 1935 stat. rev.

Type species Papilio epaea Felder, 1779

This is a purely Afrotropical genus of 35 fairly large to large species. The lineage arose ~ 27 Mya.

Body: Head moderately large, hairy. Antennae broad and abrupt, shorter than half length of forewing, averaging 42% (38-46%) of forewing for both sexes. Palpi 1 st joint four times as long as broad, 2 nd joint twice as long as first joint and terminal joint minute, oval. Black with lateral white line. All joints hairy. Thorax elongate; compressed laterally, hairy and scaly. Abdomen long, extending beyond outer edge of hindwings, laterally compressed, broader distally. Legs: Anterior legs slender and less than half length of pterothoracic legs; tarsi of male single joint with terminal spine, female tarsi five jointed with spines on each except last, with a terminal spine. Pterothoracic legs robust, external claw of male furrowed on inner surface, two terminal claws asymmetrical in male, symmetrical in female. Wing venation: Radial veins of forewing stalked; R 1 branching off from R 2- R 5 well beyond the upper angle of cell. Cell of hindwing slightly more than one third of total wing length. Markings: Hindwing has no spots or coalesced, forming a tight grouping. Hyaline areas and hyaline patches absent. There are no marginal markings or spots on forewing or hindwing. Male genitalia: Uncus very short with bifid tip; aedeagus long, straight and narrow but not needle like, basally narrow and not bifid; sclerotized and modified 8th tergite or sternite not present; valves comparatively short and angular, incurved and broadly claw-like; juxta small, U-shaped, weakly sclerotized; vinculum large and broad; saccus elongate. Female genitalia: Anal lobes short and broad, posterior apophyses as long, or longer, than the lobes; two sub-pupillary glands; sterigma broad and U-shaped; ostium posteriorly placed; ductus short and sclerotized; bursa spherical to ovoid; two pairs of prominent spinose signa. Sphragis present.

Early stages: Egg cylindrical, twice as high as wide, evenly domed on top; laid in batches. Pupa with four pairs of long dorsal processes on the first four abdominal segments. Host plant genera: Adenia (13 records), Barteria (3 records), Oncoba and Vitis (2 records each). One record for each of Basananthe , Passiflora and Tryphostemma . Host plant families: Passifloraceae (15 records), Salicaceae and Vitaceae (2 records each). Habitats (biomes): Bematistes is predominantly a forest genus. Forest (19 spp.), submontane forest (3 species), montane forest (2 species). Two species are found in moist woodland. There are no savanna species. Geographical range: A genus of the Guineo-Congolian forest block. Best represented in the Democratic Republic of Congo (23 spp.), Cameroon (19 spp.), Uganda (18 spp.), Tanzania (16 spp.), Gabon (13 spp.) and Nigeria (11 spp.).

Diagnosis

Facies: Forewing radials stalked (not stalked in other African genera in the tribe). Generally large butterflies; wings dark with coloured patches; limited spotting restricted towards base of wings. The genus Bematistes has no hindwing marginal spots and no hyaline areas on the wings. The cell of the hindwing is comparatively short compared to the other genera. Anterior legs of male with terminal spine present; not present in the other African genera. Pupa with four pairs of long dorsal processes not found in other African genera. Some mimics found in Telchinia .

Genitalia: In the male genitalia the uncus is very short; aedeagus long, straight and narrow but not needle-like, basally narrow and not bifid; sclerotized and modified 8 th tergite or sternite absent, valves claw-shaped. In the female genitalia the sterigma is broadly U-shaped; there are two pairs of signa (only one pair in other African genera).

Species list