Tirumala formosa


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

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 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 by the Kenyan forms of the regal swallowtail.
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.

Habitat

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

Subspecies

T. f. formosaeastern Kenya - east of the [Great Great Rift Valley, Kenya|Rift Valley, Kenya|Rift Valley], north-eastern TanzaniaT. f. mercedoniawestern Kenya - west of Rift Valley, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, north-western TanzaniaT. f. morgeniCameroonT. f. neumanniEthiopia