Catopsilia florella (African Emigrant butterfly) foraging for nectar on flowers.

National Museums of Kenya’s project publishes The Butterflies of Taita Hills

The National Museums of Kenya’s project Assessment of Lepidoptera Pollinator Species Diversity Data in East Africa has published a field guide to the butterflies of Taita Hills in Kenya.

The guide was launched at a community conservation centre in Ngangao Forest, Taita Hills on June 10, 2021 with diverse stakeholders in attendance.

During the Guide Launch at Community Based Conservation Centre, Taita Hills, Kenya.

 

They have recorded 211 butterfly species, three of which occur nowhere else in the world except the Taita Hills. With pollinators on the decline, baseline surveys will provide data as a first step towards conservation and this guide will be useful for identification of butterflies during field surveys on insect pollinators diversity in various habitats in Kenya. The field guide is also expected to help local communities, students, and butterfly enthusiasts in butterfly species identification especially those wishing to identify and farm species required by various butterfly markets.

Euphaedra neophron (Gold Banded Forester Butterfly) basking.

 

The field guide has outlined the butterfly life cycle exemplified by Papilio desmondi teita (Desmond’s Green Banded Swallowtail) that is endemic to the Taita Hills.

 

We are delighted with what this project has achieved and invite you to access the guide here.