Gaudy Commodore

Description:

Precis octavia is a species of butterfly in the Nymphalidae family. This butterfly is commonly known as the Gaudy Commodore and is native to Africa. The southern subspecies (Precis octavia sesamus) has a summer form (natalensis) which is red with black markings, and a winter form (sesamus) which is blue with a line of red markings on the wings. The winter form is slightly larger than the summer form. In both forms the males and females are alike, however the females are slightly larger. Intermediate forms of the gaudy commodore are rare, but display a wide range of mixtures of the wing patterns of both forms. The northern subspecies (Precis octavia octavia) has only one form which is red with black markings.

Habitat:

The southern subspecies of these butterflies (Precis octavia sesamus) is found from the border region of the Eastern and Western Cape in South Africa and along the eastern side of South Africa, to Swaziland, Mozambique, Tanzania and Kenya. The northern subspecies (Precis octavia octavia) occurs from Sierra Leone to Somalia

Notes:

The males of the summer form display conspicuous hilltopping, and show both territorial and perching behaviour. They fly between one and two meters off the ground with a medium-fast “flap-flap-glide” motion. They are often found in grasslands.