Butterflies of Gambia

Gambia Post issued the beautiful stamp set features butterflies of their country on December 30, 2009. The issues are  one miniature sheet consist of six postage stamps and one set of four postage single stamps.

The miniature sheet depicted species Abadima Acraea, African common white, Cream-bordered Charaxes and African Caper white, Large spotted Acraea, Tiny Orange Tip. Meanwhile single stamps are depicted species Elegant acraea, Bamboo Charaxes, Green-veined Charaxes and Pink acraea.

Top arrays from left to right:

Abadima Acraea or Acraea pseudegina. Acraea pseudegina is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family which has a wingspan reaching about 45–55 millimetres . In this quite variable species the uppersides of the forewings are usually smoky black, with some black spots. Fringes are black except on the inner margins of both wings where they are yellowish. The uppersides of the hindwings have brick-red colour. An irregular row of nine spots shown by transparency from the underside crosses the descale area of the wings. The underside is similar to the upperside, but there is a series of black marking on the edge of the hind wings.

African Common White or Belenois creona. The African Common White (Belenois creona) is a butterfly in the family Pieridae which found in the Afrotropic ecozone.The wingspan is 40-45 mm. Sexes are dimorphic.Uppersides are white with black or brown marginal borders and veins in forewing apex.Females have broader dark upperside borders on both wings. Underwings are yellow during wet season.

Cream-bordered Charaxes or Charaxes epijasius. Charaxes or The Rajah and Pasha butterflies, also known as Emperors in Africa, make up the huge type genus of the brush-footed butterfly subfamily Charaxinae, or leafwing butterflies. Charaxes are tropical Old World butterflies, with by far the highest diversity in sub-Saharan Africa, a smaller number in South and Southeast Asia, and a single species (Charaxes jasius) in Europe. They are generally strong flies and very popular among butterfly collectors.

Bottom arrays from left to right:

African Caper White or Belenois aurota. The African Caper White (Belenois aurota) is a small to medium-sized butterfly of the Family Pieridae, that is, the Yellows and Whites, which is found in South Asia and Africa. In Africa, it is also known as the Brown-veined White, and is well-known during summer and autumn when large numbers migrate north-east over the interior.Wing expanse of 44–62 mm.

Large spotted Acraea or Acraea zetes. The Large spotted Acraea or Acraea zetes is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family . The Nymphalidae is the true butterflies which distributed worldwide, especially rich in the tropics. Adults of some groups are the longest-lived butterflies, surviving 6-11 months. Adult feeding behavior depends on the species, where some groups primarily seek flower nectar while others only feed on sap flows , rotting fruit, dung, or animal carcasses. Males exhibit perching and patrolling behaviors when seeking mates. Egg-laying varies widely, as some species lay eggs in clusters, others in columns, and others singly. Caterpillar appearance and behavior vary widely.

Tiny Orange Tip or Colotis evagore. The Tiny Orange Tip (Colotis evagore) is a butterfly of the Pieridae family. It is found in the dry parts of tropical Africa, northern Africa, southern Spain, and southwest Arabia.The wingspan is 28–35 mm in males and 28–38 mm in females. The adults fly from February to August depending on the range.The larva feed on Maerua, Capparis and Cadaba species.

Elegant Acraea

Elegant Acraea or Acraea egina is a butterfly of the genus of brush-footed butterflies (Acraea) in the family of Nymphalidae.The food plants of their caterpillars are usually Urticaceae or, like in most Heliconiinae, Passifloraceae. Some feed on other plants, such as Fabaceae, "Flacourtiaceae" or Violaceae. Their preferred species contain cyanogenic glycosides, which make the larvae and adults poisonous to predators.

Bamboo Charaxes, Charaxes bouveti

The Bamboo Charaxes or Charaxes bouveti is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae which its larvae feed on Bamboo. Wingspan is around 6cm. Behavior similar to other Charaxes.

Green-veined Charaxes, Charaxes candiope

The  Green-veined Charaxes (Charaxes candiope) is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae which found in most of Subsaharan Africa.The wingspan is 45–55 mm in males and 50–60 mm in females. The basic colour of the upperside wings is tawny or orange tawny, with a basal area slightly paler or pale ocher yellow. The unscaled veins and the coastal edge of forewing are green. The hindwings have a sub marginal black band with a series of tawny ochers or whitish interstitial spots. The undersides of the forewings are clayish, slightly ochers, while the hindwings are sepia colour.

Pink Acraea, Acraea caecillia

Acraea caecillia  is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae which have distinctive appearance are ground colour brownish red, hindwing margin and forewing apex blackish, both wings with small black spots.