Bicyclus ena explained

Bicyclus ena, the grizzled bush brown, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found from KwaZulu-Natal to Eswatini, Mpumalanga, from Zimbabwe to Kenya and in Uganda.[1]

The wingspan is 38–42 mm for males and 43–48 mm for females.The wings above are uniform dark grey-brown, the forewing with two very distinct, black, white-pupilled eye-spots ringed with dull yellow, a larger one in cellule 2 and a small one in cellule 5.[2] There are two extended generations per year. The wet-season form is on wing in spring and summer and the dry-season form in autumn and winter.[3]

References

3. Halali, S., Brakefield (el at.) (2020). To mate, or not to mate: The evolution of reproductive diapause facilitates insect radiation into African savannahs in the Late Miocene

4. WINDIG, J. J., BRAKEFIELD,(el at.) (1994). Seasonal polyphenism in the wild: Survey of wing patterns in five species of Bicyclus butterflies in Malawi.

Notes and References

  1. http://ftp.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/papilionoidea/nymphalidae/satyrinae/bicyclus/ "Bicyclus Kirby, 1871"
  2. Aurivillius, [P.O.]C. 1908-1924. In: Seitz, A. Die Großschmetterlinge der Erde Band 13: Abt. 2, Die exotischen Großschmetterlinge, Die afrikanischen Tagfalter, 1925, 613 Seiten, 80 Tafeln (The Macrolepidoptera of the World 13).Alfred Kernen Verlag, Stuttgart.
  3. Book: Woodhall, Steve . Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa . 2005 . Cape Town, South Africa . Struik . 978-1-86872-724-7 .