Tirumala formosa

Tirumala formosa
T. f. mercedonia from Uganda
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Tirumala
Species:	T. formosa
Binomial name
Tirumala formosa (Godman, 1880)
Synonyms
Danais formosa Godman, 1880 Melinda mercedonia Karsch, 1894 Elsa morgeni Honrath, 1892 Danaus formosa f. yala Stoneham, 1958

Tirumala formosa, the forest monarch or beautiful tiger, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae.

Illustration accompanying the original description as Danais formosa

Description

Tirumala formosa has a wingspan reaching about 75–85 millimetres (3.0–3.3 in). 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 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) by the Kenyan forms of the regal swallowtail (Papilio rex).

The larvae feed on Secamone - S. micrandra, S. platystigma, S. punctulosa, S. zambesiaca and Periploca linearifolia.

Distribution

Tirumala formosa can be found in tropical Africa (Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania).

Habitat

This species lives in semimontane forests, at an elevation of about 1,500–2,300 metres (4,900–7,500 ft) above sea level.

Subspecies

• T. f. formosa — eastern Kenya - east of the Rift Valley, north-eastern Tanzania
• T. f. mercedonia (Karsch, 1894) — western Kenya - west of Rift Valley, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, north-western Tanzania
• T. f. morgeni (Honrath, 1892) — Cameroon
• T. f. neumanni (Rothschild, 1902) — Ethiopia

References

• Biolib
• Mark C. Williams - Butterflies and Skippers of the Afrotropical Region
• Seitz, A. Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 23 a morgeni, b mercedonia, formosa