by Robert Warren

Eh? I hear you say. How can a butterfly save monkeys? Well the connection is not direct, but in the complex world of Conservation there is indeed a connection. So let me explain.

The Common Blue Charaxes

I am a butterfly enthusiast, and I am conducting a survey of the butterflies of Rhoko, the community forest of Iko Esai, Cross River State, Nigeria. Rhoko is where the field site of CERCOPAN is situated. CERCOPAN’s mission is to conserve Nigeria’s primates through sustainable rainforest conservation, community partnerships, education, primate rehabilitation and research (that’s the ‘R’, in the name, by the way). Something that makes CERCOPAN stand out amongst groups with similar aims, is their recognition that a successful conservation operation requires dedication to the task along all, not just some, of these fronts. Even the research work covers many areas. But the piece I am assisting with is understanding Rhoko forest itself. There is pressure on all of Africa’s forests, and if you are interested in conserving forest, where do your priorities lie? The forest with the most species? The forest with the rarest species? Well a forest with both would seem to be a good place to start!

The Incipient False Acraea

So myself, and scientists from many other fields, come to Rhoko, and study what is there. It’s not enough to love the place, and have a gut-feel that it is worth conserving – you have to have knowledge. Most funders are hard-nosed about where their money will go. The Foundation of my own company, for example, has key criteria for its Biodiversity grants, amongst which are that the projects are based on scientific principles, and are advancing the understanding of biomes.

The Lilac Beauty

Well the good butterfly news is that it looks like Rhoko really should be quite an exceptional location. We already know that there are around 1,100 butterfly species in Cross River State. That’s Tops for the whole of Africa! In fact that’s more than 25% of all the known species in Africa, and almost three quarters of those known in West Africa. So far in the three visits (15 field days) that I have made to Rhoko I have already identified more than 300 species. Amongst them, there is one that has only been seen once before in Nigeria, one for which there are only a handful known anywhere, and one that has never been seen before in Nigeria at all. And here it is….

Papilio andronicus, a large ’swallowtail’, previously only see in Cameroun (rarely)

So we have made a great start. It will probably take another 60 days in the field to provide enough information for a firm prediction of the total number of species present. That means plenty of work left to do: long walks in the heat and humidity, and painstaking identification and indexing. However, it’s not hard for me to give up my vacation (I’m a Geologist working in Lagos, by profession) to rush down to Rhoko and keep the research moving forward. You see there are many compensations, not least of which is meeting up with my brilliant friends in CERCOPAN again. Then there are the stunning butterflies with their endless variety. My understanding of their behaviour, and their interactions with each other and their habitat improves dramatically with each visit. There’s also the legacy we will leave for future workers to compare against in a proposed 2100 Butterfly Survey in selected African forests. That work will improve the scientific world’s understanding of habitat degradation and climate change impacts. A final motivator is that there’s always the promise of finding another butterfly like Papilio andronicus. Have you ever wondered how a species gets its name? Well it’s simple. The person who writes the scientific article that proposes the new species to the world, gets to choose the name (it’s the second name – the ’specific’ name – that is available). Many choose to name it after a favourite person. For example the following species can all be found in Cross River, and they are all named after people: Eurema brigitta, Appias sabina, Stempfferia gordoni, Gorgyra warreni (that’s me folks), Junonia sophia, Cymothoe beckeri (the ‘i’ on the end of a name, by the way, is the Latin way of saying that it belongs to that person – it’s theirs…..for ever). We will almost certainly find a new butterfly species at Rhoko soon. And when that time comes, you will be given the opportunity to name the butterfly….that is if you are the highest bidder: all proceeds to CERCOPAN. And then, once again, a butterfly will save monkeys!

Papilo  your-name-here

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