cabintom's Journal

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Most specimens illustrated have been adapted with permission from Afrotropical Butterflies and Skippers.
(https://metamorphosis.org.za/articlesPDF/1144/664%20Genus%20Precis%20Huebner.pdf)

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Specimen images adapted with permission from Afrotropical Butterflies and Skippers.
(https://metamorphosis.org.za/articlesPDF/1067/358%20Genus%20Byblia%20Huebner.pdf)

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Note: The figures are not set to scale or colour calibrated (but are pretty close).

https://metamorphosis.org.za/articlesPDF/1648/Desloges%202021.07.02%20Metamorphosis%2032_28-29%20Desloges%20Symoptera%20mixtura.pdf

For those who may be interested, here are the 4 male specimens:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/42218686
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/49577171
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/42218687
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/39144797

And the 2 female specimens:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/39144796
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/42218684

These have all been deposited in the collection at the African Butterfly Research Institute (ABRI) in Nairobi.

The remaining 2 known females of the species are housed at the Musée royal de l’Afrique centrale (MRAC) in Belgium.

For those of you who refer to William's Afrotropical Butterflies, he's recently uploaded a slew of new pdfs covering many genera.

They can be found here: http://metamorphosis.org.za/?p=articles&s=Results&page=0

I also encourage you to check out @shirdipam 's awesome butterfly photography website. Her photos of African species can be found here: https://pamsbutterflies.com/region/3/africa

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Note that the angle in ssp. angulata's yellow FW band is often less pronounced than in the example given.

The 3 Belenois species gidica, aurota, & creona are among the most common butterflies on the continent of Africa and yet are also among the most commonly misidentified butterflies on iNaturalist. This is due to their superficial similarity and the variability expressed in their wing patterns.

Hopefully this colour-coded guide will help you pin-point the key basic features of each species.

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If anyone needs a more detailed explanation of defining features, please ask in the comments below.