Abantis

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Ecdysozoa
Cladus: Panarthropoda
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Classis: Insecta
Cladus: Dicondylia
Subclassis: Pterygota
Cladus: Metapterygota
Infraclassis: Neoptera
Cladus: Eumetabola
Cladus: Endopterygota
Superordo: Panorpida
Cladus: Amphiesmenoptera
Ordo: Lepidoptera
Subordo: Glossata
Cladus: Coelolepida
Cladus: Myoglossata
Cladus: Neolepidoptera
Infraordo: Heteroneura
Cladus: Eulepidoptera
Cladus: Ditrysia
Cladus: Apoditrysia
Cladus: Obtectomera
Superfamilia: Papilionoidea

Familia: Hesperiidae
Subfamilia: Tagiadinae
Tribus: Tagiadini
Genus: Abantis
Species (25): A. arctomarginata – A. bamptoni – A. bergeri – A. bicolor – A. bismarcki – A. contigua – A. efulensis – A. elegantula – A. eltringhami – A. fabiana – A. ja – A. leucogaster – A. lucretia – A. maesseni – A. meneliki – A. meru – A. nigeriana – A. paradisea – A. pseudonigeriana – A. rubra – A. tanobia – A. tettensis – A. torbeni – A. venosa – A. vidua – A. zambesiaca
Name

Abantis Hopffer, 1855.

Type species: Abantis tettensis Hopffer, 1855: 643
Synonymy

Abantis Hopffer, 1855: 643; Hemming, 1967: 20.
Sapaea Plötz, 1879: 177. TS. bicolor Trimen.
Abantiades Fairmaire, 1894: 395; Unnecessary replacement name.

Homonyms

For other taxa with the same name, see Abantis (disambiguation)

Russia, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Abantis_bicolor_(Hesperiidae)_(4804542896).jpg">

Abantis bicolor in South Africa

References

Belcastro, C & Oremans, P. 2016. Notes on the genus Abantis Hopffer, 1855 with description of two new species (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae, Pyrginae). Fragmenta Entomologica 48(1): 53–59. DOI: 10.4081/fe.2016.160 Reference page.
Berger, L.A. 1978. Abantis meneliki n. sp. (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae). Lambillionea 78(9–10): 67–69. Reference page.
Collins, S. C. & Larsen, T.B. 1994. The Abantis bismarcki-group of skipper butterflies with the description of Abantis bamptoni sp. nov. (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae). Entomologists' Record and Journal of Variation 106: 1–5. PDF. Reference page.
Hemming, A. F., 1967. The generic names of the butterflies and their type species (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera). Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) 1967, Suppl. 9: 1-509.Reference page.
Hopffer, C., 1855. Lepidoptera Diurna. Berichte uber die zur Bekanntmachung geeigneten Verhandlungen der Königl. Preuss. Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin 1855: 639–643. BHL. Reference page.
Mendes, L.F. & Bivar de Sousa, A. 2009. The genus Abantis Hoppfer, 1855 in Angola and description of a new species (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae: Pyrginae). Shilap Revista de Lepidopterologia 37(147): 313–318. Reference page.
Miller, L.D. 1971. Descriptions of new species and notes on other Hesperiidae of Africa. Bulletin of the Allyn Museum 2: 1–17. Full article (PDF). Reference page.
Plötz, C. 1879. Hesperiina. Entomologische Zeitung 40: 175–180. BHL. Reference page.
Williams, M.C. 2007. Checklist of Afrotropical Papilionoidea and Hesperioidea. 7th Edn. (April 2007). Downloaded from Afrotropical Butterflies. Reference page.

Vernacular names
English: Paradise Skippers

Abantis is an Afrotropical[2] genus of skipper butterflies.[1] They are also known as the paradise skippers.[1] Their imagos are generally attractive with bold or colourful wing and/or body markings. They occur in either forest or savanna, and several species are very localized or thinly distributed.[3] The territorial males are encountered more often than the females. Males engage territorial intruders, and are prone to very rapid and high flight, while females display more relaxed flight habits, closer to the ground.[4] Plants of several families serve as food plants, and only one egg is oviposited per plant. The larva is pale and spotted to varying degrees, and pupates inside a leaf shelter drawn together by silk threads.[4]
Species

Abantis arctomarginata Lathy, 1901
Abantis bamptoni Collins & Larsen, 1994
Abantis bicolor (Trimen, 1864)
Abantis bismarcki Karsch, 1892
Abantis contigua Evans, 1937
Abantis efulensis Holland, 1896
Abantis elegantula (Mabille, 1890)
Abantis eltringhami Jordan, 1932
Abantis ja Druce, 1909
Abantis leucogaster (Mabille, 1890)
Abantis lucretia Druce, 1909
Abantis meneliki Berger, 1979
Abantis meru Evans, 1947
Abantis nigeriana Butler, 1901
Abantis paradisea (Butler, 1870)
Abantis pseudonigeriana Usher, 1984
Abantis rubra Holland, 1920
Abantis tanobia Collins & Larsen, 2005
Abantis tettensis Hopffer, 1855
Abantis venosa Trimen, 1889
Abantis vidua Weymer, 1901
Abantis zambesiaca (Westwood, 1874)

References

"Abantis". ftp.funet.fi. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
"ABANTIS - Butterflies and Moths of the World". www.nhm.ac.uk. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
Williams, Mark C. (9 February 2021). Afrotropical Butterflies: Genus Abantis Hopffer, 1855 – Paradise Skippers (PDF). lepsocafrica.org. pp. 4–6. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
Woodhall, Steve (2005). Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town: Struik. p. 370. ISBN 1-86872-724-6.