Vanessa hippomene

Vanessa hippomene, commonly known as the southern short-tailed admiral, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae which is native to South Africa and Madagascar.

Southern short-tailed admiral
Antanartia hippomene madegassorum, female upper and undersides
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Vanessa
Species:	V. hippomene
Binomial name
Vanessa hippomene (Hübner, [1823])
Synonyms
Antanartia hippomene (Hübner, 1823) Hypanartia hippomene Hübner, [1823] Antanartia hippomene f. milanion Stoneham, 1965 Hypanartia hippomene var. madegassorum Aurivillius, 1899

Wingspan is 45–45 mm in males and 42–48 mm in females. Has two or three flight periods with peak between April and May.^[1]

This species was traditionally considered to be a member of the genus Antanartia, but recent molecular analyses reveals that it is more closely related to members of the genus Vanessa.^[2]

Subspecies

• V. h. hippomene — Eswatini and South Africa: KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and southeastern Western Cape
• V. h. madegassorum (Aurivillius, 1899) — Madagascar: plateau

References

1. Woodhall, Steve (2005). Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN 978-1-86872-724-7.
2. Wahlberg, Niklas; Rubinoff, Daniel (2011). "Vagility across Vanessa (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae): mobility in butterfly species does not inhibit the formation and persistence of isolated sister taxa". Systematic Entomology. 36 (2): 362–370. Bibcode:2011SysEn..36..362W. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3113.2010.00566.x.