''Abantis'' is an
Afrotropical
The Afrotropical realm is one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Sub-Saharan Africa, the southern Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, and the islands of the western Indian Ocean. It was formerly known as the Ethiopi ...
genus of
skipper butterflies.
They are also known as the paradise skippers.
Their
imago
In biology, the imago (Latin for "image") is the last stage an insect attains during its metamorphosis, its process of growth and development; it is also called the ''imaginal'' stage ("imaginal" being "imago" in adjective form), the stage in wh ...
s are generally attractive with bold or colourful wing and/or body markings. They occur in either forest or savanna, and several species are very localized or thinly distributed.
The territorial males are encountered more often than the females. Males engage territorial intruders, and are prone to very rapid and high flight, while females display more relaxed flight habits, closer to the ground.
Plants of several families serve as food plants, and only one egg is oviposited per plant. The larva is pale and spotted to varying degrees, and pupates inside a leaf shelter drawn together by silk threads.
Species
*''
Abantis adelica''
(Karsch, 1892)
*''
Abantis amneris
''Leucochitonea amneris'' is a butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. It is found in Tanzania, from Mount Kilimanjaro to Njombe and Tabora.
References
Endemic fauna of Tanzania
Butterflies described in 1894
Tagiadini
Butterflies of Afric ...
''
(Rebel & Rogenhofer, 1894)
*''
Abantis arctomarginata''
Lathy, 1901
*''
Abantis bamptoni''
Collins & Larsen, 1994
*''
Abantis bicolor
''Abantis bicolor'', the bicoloured skipper, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae and the subfamily Pyrginae. Described in 1864 and endemic to South Africa, the bicoloured skipper is restricted to lowland forests from the Eastern Cape to the ...
''
(Trimen, 1864)
*''
Abantis bismarcki''
Karsch, 1892
*''
Abantis canopus''
(Trimen, 1864)
*''
Abantis cassualalla''
(Bethune-Baker, 1911)
*''
Abantis contigua''
Evans, 1937
*''
Abantis efulensis''
Holland, 1896
*''
Abantis elegantula''
(Mabille, 1890)
*''
Abantis eltringhami''
Jordan, 1932
*''
Abantis hindei''
(Druce, 1903)
*''
Abantis ja''
Druce, 1909
*''
Abantis leucogaster''
(Mabille, 1890)
*''
Abantis levubu''
(Wallengren, 1857)
*''
Abantis lucretia''
Druce, 1909
*''
Abantis meneliki''
Berger, 1979
*''
Abantis meru''
Evans, 1947
*''
Abantis nigeriana''
Butler, 1901
*''
Abantis paradisea
''Abantis paradisea'', the paradise skipper, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found in KwaZulu-Natal, Zululand, Transvaal, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and from Botswana to Somalia.
The wingspan is for males and for females. Adults are ...
''
(Butler, 1870)
*''
Abantis pillaana''
(Wallengren, 1857)
*''
Abantis pseudonigeriana''
Usher, 1984
*''
Abantis rubra''
Holland, 1920
*''
Abantis tanobia''
Collins & Larsen, 2005
*''
Abantis tettensis''
Hopffer, 1855
*''
Abantis venosa
''Abantis venosa'', the veined skipper or veined paradise skipper, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found in Zululand, Eswatini, Transvaal, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Uganda.
The wingspan is 36–41 mm for males and 35–45 mm ...
''
Trimen, 1889
*''
Abantis vidua''
Weymer, 1901
*''
Abantis zambesiaca''
(Westwood, 1874)
References
External links
Seitz, A. ''Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde'' 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 76
Tagiadini
Hesperiidae genera
Taxa named by Carl Heinrich Hopffer
{{Pyrginae-stub