''Tirumala formosa'', the forest monarch or beautiful tiger, 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 ...

Description

''Tirumala formosa'' has a wingspan reaching about . The uppersides of the forewings are black with several white spots and a reddish-brown basal area. The uppersides of the hindwings are black, with a series of small white spots and a large

hyaline A hyaline substance is one with a glassy appearance. The word is derived from el, ὑάλινος, translit=hyálinos, lit=transparent, and el, ὕαλος, translit=hýalos, lit=crystal, glass, label=none. Histopathology Hyaline cartilage is ...

basal area. The body is black with white spots. The undersides of the wings are similar to the uppersides, but the colours are paler. This species is mimicked (

Batesian mimicry Batesian mimicry is a form of mimicry where a harmless species has evolved to imitate the warning signals of a harmful species directed at a predator of them both. It is named after the English naturalist Henry Walter Bates, after his work on bu ...

) by the Kenyan forms of the regal swallowtail (''

Papilio rex ''Papilio rex'', the regal swallowtail or king papilio, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found in Africa. It is a semi-montane and montane forest (1, 300 m. to 2 600 m.) species. The larvae feed on ''Teclea tricocarpa'', ''Tecl ...

''). The larvae feed on ''

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 ...

'' - '' S. micrandra'', '' S. platystigma'', '' S. punctulosa'', '' S. zambesiaca'' and '' Periploca linearifolia''.''Tirumala''
at Markku Savela's ''Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms''

Distribution

''Tirumala formosa'' can be found in tropical Africa (

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west- central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; th ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the Er ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

and

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

Habitat

This species lives in semimontane forests, at an elevation of about above sea level.

Subspecies

* ''T. f. formosa'' — eastern

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

- east of the

Rift Valley A rift valley is a linear shaped lowland between several highlands or mountain ranges created by the action of a geologic rift. Rifts are formed as a result of the pulling apart of the lithosphere due to extensional tectonics. The linear de ...

, north-eastern

* ''T. f. mercedonia'' (Karsch, 1894) — western

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

- west of Rift Valley,

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The south ...

, Rwanda,

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Gr ...

, north-western

* ''T. f. morgeni'' (Honrath, 1892) —

* ''T. f. neumanni'' (Rothschild, 1902) —

References

Biolib

Mark C. Williams - Butterflies and Skippers of the Afrotropical RegionSeitz, A. ''Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde'' 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 23
a ''morgeni'', b ''mercedonia'', ''formosa'' Butterflies described in 1880 Tirumala (butterfly) Butterflies of Africa Taxa named by Frederick DuCane Godman {{Danainae-stub