''Neptis agatha'' is a
butterfly
Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...
in 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 ha ...
. It is found in Sierra Leone, Abyssinia East Africa and Natal.
[Afrotropical Butterflies: Nymphalidae - Tribe Limenitidini]
/ref>
It is the nominotypical member of the ''Neptis agatha'' species group
In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...
.
The forms of this group may be at once recognized by the underside of the hindwing having 2 or 3 continuous white transverse bands at the base (cf. agatha underside, 48 d) and by the cell having white dots or being only striped with white at the anterior margin. Some of the numerous forms are very nearly allied.
The group members are :
*''Neptis agatha'' Stoll, 1781
*'' Neptis laeta'' Overlaet, 1955
*'' Neptis serena'' Overlaet, 1955
*'' Neptis kiriakoffi'' Overlaet, 1955
*'' Neptis morosa'' Overlaet, 1955
*'' Neptis jordani'' Neave, 1910
*'' Neptis alta'' Overlaet, 1955 Now in '' Neptis nysiades'' group
*'' Neptis gratiosa'' Overlaet, 1955
*'' Neptis constantiae'' Carcasson, 1961
*'' Neptis loma'' Condamin, 1971
*'' Neptis angusta'' Condamin, 1966
*'' Neptis katama'' Collins & Larsen, 1991
*'' Neptis rogersi'' Eltringham, 1921
*'' Neptis nysiades'' Hewitson, 1868
*'' Neptis clarei'' Neave, 1904
*'' Neptis conspicua'' Neave, 1904
*'' Neptis poultoni'' Eltringham, 1921
*'' Neptis nina'' Staudinger, 1896;
*'' Neptis nicomedes'' Hewitson, 1874;
*'' Neptis strigata'' Aurivillius, 1894
*'' Neptis nicobule'' Eltringham, 1922,
*'' Neptis nicoteles'' Hewitson, 1874
*'' Neptis trigonophora'' Butler, 1878
*'' Neptis livingstonei'' Suffert, 1904
*'' Neptis lermanni''*
*'' Neptis nebrodes''*
*'' Neptis jamesoni''*
*'' Neptis rothschildi''*
*'' Neptis penningtoni''*
*'' Neptis eltringhami''*
*'' Neptis larseni''*
*'' Neptis nzedurai''*
* Added by Richardson [Richardson, I.D. 2019. Revision of the genus ''Neptis'' (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae) in the Afrotropical Region: Currently described taxa. ''Metamorphosis'' 30: 69‒221]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q13573882
Butterflies described in 1781
agatha
Butterflies of Africa