''Amauris niavius'', the friar, is a

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises ...

of the family

Nymphalidae The Nymphalidae are the largest family of butterflies, with more than 6,000 species distributed throughout most of the world. Belonging to the superfamily Papilionoidea, they are usually medium-sized to large butterflies. Most species have a re ...

. It is found in the forests of tropical

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan ...

is 80–85 mm for males and 78–82 mm for females. Adults are on wing year-round (with peaks in late summer and autumn). The larvae feed on '' Cynanchum'' (including '' C. medium'', '' C. nigrum'' and '' C. vincetoxicum''), ''

Gymnema ''Gymnema'' (Neo-Latin, from Greek γυμνὀς ''gymnos'', "naked" and νῆμα, ''nēma'', "thread") is a genus in the family Apocynaceae first described as a genus in 1810. One species, ''Gymnema sylvestre ''Gymnema sylvestre'' is a pere ...

'' (including '' G. sylvestre''), ''

Marsdenia ''Marsdenia'' is a genus of plants in the family Apocynaceae first described as a genus in 1810. It is named in honor of the plant collector and Secretary of the Admiralty, William Marsden. The plants are native to tropical regions in Asia, Afr ...

'', ''

Secamone ''Secamone'' is a genus of plant in family Apocynaceae, first described as a genus in 1810. It is widespread across much of Africa, northern Australia, southern Asia, with numerous species endemic to Madagascar.Gibbs Russell, G. E., W. G. M ...

'', '' Tylophora'' and ''

Ipomoea ''Ipomoea'' () is the largest genus in the plant family Convolvulaceae, with over 600 species. It is a large and diverse group, with common names including morning glory, water convolvulus or water spinach, sweet potato, bindweed, moonf ...

''. Larvae of subspecies ''dominicanus'' feed on ''

Gymnema sylvestre ''Gymnema sylvestre'' is a perennial woody vine native to Asia (including the Arabian Peninsula), Africa and Australia. It has been used in Ayurvedic medicine. Common names include gymnema, Australian cowplant, and Periploca of the woods, and the ...

''."''Amauris'' Hübner, 1816"
at Markku Savela's ''Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms''

Subspecies

*''Amauris niavius niavius'' (from western Kenya to Zaire, Angola, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Fernando Pó (Macías Nguema Island)) *''Amauris niavius dominicanus'' Trimen, 1879 (Natal, Mozambique, from Rhodesia to Malawi, eastern Tanzania and Kenya east of the Rift Valley) *''Amauris niavius aethiops'' Rothschild & Jordan, 1903 (Ethiopia, northern Uganda, southern Sudan)

References

Seitz, A. ''Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde'' 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 23
c ''dominicanus'' , d (missppeling) Amauris Butterflies described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Danainae-stub