Some Butterflies of the Mathews Range in Kenya - Les Lépidoptéristes de France

Vue générale sur le Mathews Range et la forêt d’altitude, Kenya, 7 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher

Pictures by Timothy Boucher
Senior Conservation Geographer (Washington DC, USA)

(Cliquer sur les photos pour un meilleur effet !)

The Matthews (or Mathews) Range (1°15’N/37°15’E)

The Mathews (or Matthews) Range (1°15’N/37°15’E), also known as the Lenkiyio Hills, is a range of mountains about 150 km long, oriented north-south, in the Laikipia district of the Rift Valley Province in northern Kenya. The town of Wamba is located at the southeastern edge of the range. The highest point is Warges, at 2688 m asl, at the southern end of the range, separated by a valley from the rest of the range. The 2375 m high Ol Doinyo Lenkiyo mountain is the highest peak of the middle of the range.

Le Mathew Range au centre de la photo

The area is isolated, and holds forests of juniper and cycads. It is home to Rhinoceros, elephants and other large mammals, as well as some Samburu people. Part of the mountain range has been designated a wildlife sanctuary (Wikipedia).

Danse de moranes Samburu. Mathews Range, Kenya, 4 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher

Jeune femme Samburu. Mathews Range, Kenya, 4 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher

Timothy Boucher. Mathews Range, Kenya, 7 juin 2010.

Timothy Boucher is a Conservation Geographer, working for the Nature Conservancy and is based in Washington DC. He primarily does spatial analysis type of work, but also cover a myriad of other topics – including poverty, biodiversity assessments, global analyses, regional and site land cover remote sensing analyses, etc. He has been a (as he said : « fanatic » ?) birder since for about 28 years now, but have also participated in many ornithological expeditions and has been trained in scientific methodologies relating to birds : specimen preparation, banding (ringing), transect, etc.

Expédition de juin 2010 dans le Mathews Range : emplacements des camps

The 2010 Mathews Expedition was a full rapid ecological assessment including a full suite of researchers, and also worked with elders and conservationists in the area. Involved institutions were the Nature Conservancy and the Northern Rangelands Trust. The researchers came from all over – including private and Kenyan Museum people.

Papilionidae

Retour au Camp n°2 (Mugur Kichich, 1400 m). Mathews Range, Kenya, 7 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher

Coucher de soleil sur le Mathews Mountains. 7 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher

Papilio dardanus BROWN, 1776, mâle. Mathews Range, Kenya, 7 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher

Papilio dardanus BROWN, 1776. Mathews Range, Kenya, 6 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher

Probablement femelle de Papilio dardanus BROWN, 1776, forme mimétique de Danaidae du genre Amauris (mimétisme batésien). Mathews Range, Kenya, 3 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher

Papilio phorcas ansorgei ROTHSCHILD, 1896. Mathews Range, Kenya, 8 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher

Papilio phorcas ansorgei ROTHSCHILD, 1896. Mathews Range, Kenya, 3 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher

Papilio echerioides wertheri KARSCH, 1898, femelle. Mathews Range, Kenya, 3 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher

Papilio nireus lyaeus DOUBLEDAY, 1845. Mathews Range, Kenya, 6 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher

En altitude au Sud du camp n°1 : vue vers l’Ouest. Mathews Range, Kenya, 4 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher

Pieridae

Lac près du Camp n° 1 (1300 m). Mathews Range, Kenya, 5 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher

Mylothris rueppellii tirikensis NEAVE, 1904 (?). Mathews Range, Kenya, 7 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher

Dixeia pigea BOISDUVAL, 1836. Mathews Range, Kenya, 3 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher

Appias sabina udei SUFFERT, 1904. Mathews Range, Kenya, 8 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher

Nepheronia argia FABRICIUS, 1775, femelle. Mathews Range, Kenya, 8 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher

Lycaenidae

Forêt des nuages, Mathews Range, Kenya, 10 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher

Lampides boeticus LINNAEUS, 1767, mâle. Mathews Range, Kenya, 4 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher

Cacyreus lingeus STOLL, 1782. Mathews Range, Kenya, 7 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher

Acraeidae

Acraea esebria esebria HEWITSON, 1861. Mathews Range, Kenya, 8 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher

Satyrinae

Bicyclus matuta KARSCH, 1894 (?). Mathews Range, Kenya, 3 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher

Bicyclus milyas HEWITSON, 1864. Mathews Range, Kenya, 3 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher

Bicyclus sp. Mathews Range, Kenya, 7 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher

Neocoenyra duplex BUTLER, 1886. Mathews Range, Kenya, 8 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher

Forêt d’altitude (2000 m). Mathews Range, Kenya, 7 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher

Nymphalinae

Sallya boisduvali WALLENGREN, 1857. Mathews Range, Kenya, 7 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher

Phalanta eurytis DOUBLEDAY, 1847. Mathews Range, Kenya, 7 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher

Junonia natalica natalica FELDER, 1860. Mathews Range, Kenya, 4 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher

Junonia (Precis) terea tereoides BUTLER, 1901. Mathews Range, Kenya, 8 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher

Junonia (Precis) tugela TRIMEN, 1879. Mathews Range, Kenya, 3 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher

Salamis anacardii LINNAEUS, 1758. Mathews Range, Kenya, 3 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher

Charaxes cithaeron nairobicus VAN SON, 1953, mâles, sur excrément de lion. Mathews Range, Kenya, 8 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher

Charaxes cithaeron nairobicus VAN SON, 1953, mâle, sur excrément de lion. Mathews Range, Kenya, 8 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher

Dans la forêt des nuages : Cyca : Encephalartos Tegulaneus, MELVILLE, 1957. Mathews Range, Kenya, 7 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher Voir : http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/taxon.pl?name=Encephalartos+tegulaneus