ACCESS THE ENCYCLOPAEDIA HERE

ABOUT THE ENCYCLOPAEDIA

Afrotropical Butterflies is a digital encyclopaedia containing entries for all recognised butterfly (Lepidoptera - Papilionoidea) species found in the Afrotropical Region, organised by Family (Hesperiidae, Lycaenidae, Nymphalidae, Papilionidae, Pieridae, Riodinidae), Subfamily, Tribe, Subtribe and Genus. Each genus is presented as a separate PDF document that includes all names (from generic to infrasubspecific level, including synonyms and homonyms) that have been applied to the taxa within it. An extensive bibliography is provided, giving complete references to the publications in which these names were established, as well as to subsequent works in which they have been treated. Each species and subspecies entry includes the type locality (and associated type data), distribution, and additional known information (including localities, habitat, early stages, larval food, etc.). As the encyclopaedia continues to develop, we aim to fully illustrate every taxon.

Each species entry is preceded by an asterisk symbol (*) to facilitate browsing by using the “find” function (ctrl+F on Windows). With time, we will include a taxonomically structured and chronologically ordered species list at the beginning of each generic entry, which will serve to directly link to each species included within the document. Because many users of the encyclopaedia are South Africans, species and subspecies from this country are additionally marked with a hash symbol (#) following their English common names.

The encyclopaedia was initially based on the monumental catalogue Carcasson’s African Butterflies, edited by Ackery and colleagues, of the Natural History Museum, London, and published by the CSIRO, Australia, in 1995. Beginning in 1999, Mark C. Williams started compiling the encyclopaedia, incorporating the data, nomenclatural acts, and taxonomic changes published in the intervening years. Once fully developed, it was initially offered as an annual publication, purchasable as a CD. In 2013, the encyclopaedia was adapted into its present freely accessible online format, where it has continued to grow and evolve, where it now reflects the currently accepted taxonomic understanding of the butterflies of the Afrotropical Region.

Currently, the encyclopaedia is maintained by the Lepidopterists' Society of Africa’s small, dedicated team: Thomas Desloges (Managing Editor – atb.editor@lepsocafrica.org),  Andrew Noss (Copy Editor), and Jeremy Dobson (Checklist Curator & Databasing Manager).

THE AFROTROPICAL REGION

As long ago as 1858, Sclater, who studied birds at a global scale, realized that bird faunas were characteristic for different geographic areas of the earth. Soon after, Wallace (1876) noted the same phenomenon with butterflies, and refined Sclater’s work. Today, Sclater and Wallace’s zoogeographic regions remain, with only minor modifications having been made. Since plants show similar global distribution patterns to animals these regions are nowadays usually referred to as biogeographic regions.

The Afrotropical Region includes continental Africa south of the Sahara (roughly south of 16° N), the southern and eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and the offshore islands, including Madagascar.

The Afrotropical Region boasts around 6600 described butterfly taxa (species & subspecies) comprising nearly one fifth of the world total.

CITATION:

[AUTHOR.] [YEAR.] [ARTICLE TITLE]. In: WILLIAMS, M.C., DESLOGES, T., NOSS, A., & DOBSON, J. (eds.) 2026. Afrotropical Butterflies: A Lepidopterists’ Society of Africa Digital Encyclopaedia. Available at: https://metamorphosis.org.za/?p=articles&s=atb

Where the AUTHOR, YEAR, and ARTICLE TITLE can all be found on the download page for each article or at the top of each article pdf.