Butterflies in Ghana

On this page

1. Butterflies found in Ghana
2. Butterflies of Ghana at a glance
3. Signature butterflies of Ghana
4. The Ghana butterfly calendar
5. Where to see butterflies in Ghana
6. Host plants and butterfly gardening in Ghana
7. Threats and conservation
8. How to identify butterflies in Ghana
9. Frequently asked questions

Butterflies of Ghana at a glance

More than 900 butterfly species have been recorded in Ghana, roughly fifteen times the British total, and the reason is geography. The southern third of the country lies inside the Upper Guinea rainforest, the block of wet forest that runs from Sierra Leone to Togo, while the north opens into Guinea savanna and, at the far top, the dry Sudan savanna. Forest and savanna each carry their own butterflies.

Six families are represented on this page. The brush-footed butterflies supply the biggest share: Charaxes, Acraeas, Foresters, Sailers, Commodores and Pansies. The gossamer-winged butterflies are almost as numerous, and Ghana is a world centre for the Liptenines, a purely African group of small lycaenids whose caterpillars graze lichens and algae on tree trunks under the protection of ants. Whites, swallowtails, skippers and three metalmarks complete the picture.

One correction to the older text on this page: the Ghana Ceres Forester (Euphaedra ceres) is not an endemic. It flies from Sierra Leone east into the Congo basin, like almost every other species on the list. Ghana's true endemics can be counted on one hand and are mostly confined to the Atewa Range, among them a dotted border named for the hills, Mylothris atewa.

Signature butterflies of Ghana

The African Giant Swallowtail (Papilio antimachus) is the prize. With a wingspan that can reach about 23 cm it is the largest butterfly in Africa, a long-winged orange and black canopy insect seen mainly when males come down to drink at wet sand. It is rare everywhere.

Two other swallowtails are far easier to meet. The Giant Blue Swallowtail (Papilio zalmoxis) is a huge pale-blue forest butterfly whose males gather in numbers on damp forest tracks, and the Citrus Swallowtail (Papilio demodocus) breeds on orange and lime trees in every town garden. The Mocker Swallowtail is famous for its females, which come in several forms that copy the distasteful Plain Tiger and other unrelated butterflies while the male stays plain cream and black.

Among the brush-foots, the Blue Pansy (Junonia oenone) is the everyday butterfly of roadsides and gardens, a black insect with a blue hindwing patch and two red-ringed eyespots. The Plain Tiger (Danaus chrysippus), the African relative of the Monarch, drifts over savanna and waste ground, protected by the milkweed toxins it stored as a caterpillar. In the forest the big attraction is the Charaxes group: fast, heavy-bodied butterflies with tailed hindwings that ignore flowers and come instead to fermenting fruit, dung and carrion. Ghana has roughly forty of them, and a banana bait in a forest clearing will draw several in an afternoon.

The Ghana butterfly calendar

Butterflies fly all year in Ghana, but their numbers follow the rain rather than the temperature. Southern Ghana has two wet seasons, a long one from about April to July and a shorter one in September to November, and the freshest, most numerous butterflies appear during and just after each. The north has a single rainy season from May to September and a longer, harder dry season.

The low point is the Harmattan, from December to February, when dry, dusty air from the Sahara covers the country. Adults that fly then are often worn. The first heavy rains of March and April trigger a burst of emergence, and by May the forest edges are busy with Acraeas, Sailers, Pansies and swallowtails. Our butterfly season guide explains how tropical species time their broods to rainfall.

Ghana also has genuine migrants. The African Snout Butterfly (Libythea labdaca) sometimes moves in enormous streams through the forest zone, and the Pioneer White and other Belenois whites cross the savanna in loose flights at the turn of the seasons. Such movements vary from year to year, which is why tropical butterfly migration is still poorly understood.

Where to see butterflies in Ghana

Most of Ghana's butterfly wealth lives in its forest reserves.

• Kakum National Park, near Cape Coast — around 600 species have been recorded here, and the canopy walkway is one of the few places where treetop Charaxes and swallowtails can be watched at eye level.
• Bobiri Forest Reserve, east of Kumasi — Ghana's dedicated butterfly sanctuary, with about 400 species, a guesthouse and short forest trails that are excellent in the early morning.
• Atewa Range Forest Reserve, north of Kibi — an upland forest with roughly 700 recorded species, the richest single butterfly site in West Africa and the home of most of the country's endemics.
• Ankasa Conservation Area, in the far south-west — the wettest forest in Ghana, with species otherwise found only in Liberia and Ivory Coast.
• Mole National Park and the Shai Hills — for the savanna fauna: Pansies, Plain Tigers, Acraeas and grass-feeding browns.

The forest species continue east into Togo and the savanna species across the Sahel, so compare this list with butterflies in Nigeria.

Host plants and butterfly gardening in Ghana

A Ghanaian garden fills with butterflies quickly because so many of the common species breed on cultivated or weedy plants. The rule is the same as anywhere: adults need nectar, but numbers depend on the caterpillar host plants.

• Citrus trees — orange, lime and grapefruit feed the Citrus Swallowtail, whose green caterpillars mimic bird droppings when small.
• Milkweeds and Calotropis — the Plain Tiger and the Blue Monarch (Tirumala petiverana).
• Passion vines — the food of many Acraeas, whose spiny caterpillars feed in groups and whose adults are left alone by birds.
• Grasses, sedges and bamboo — Bush Browns, Evening Browns, Ringlets and most skippers.
• Acacia, Albizia and other legumes — the Babul Blues, Cupids and Hairtails.

Lantana, Ixora, zinnias and the native Stachytarpheta are the nectar plants that work best, and an unsprayed patch of weeds will do more than any bought plant.

Threats and conservation

Ghana's butterflies depend almost entirely on forest, and Ghana has lost most of its original forest cover to logging, cocoa farming and, more recently, illegal gold mining. What remains is a network of forest reserves, and the health of the butterfly fauna rises and falls with them. Butterfly surveys are one of the main tools for judging that health, and they are what identified Atewa as the most important site in the country.

Atewa is also the most threatened. Its plateau sits on bauxite, and proposals to mine it would remove the upland forest that supports the country's few endemic butterflies and some 700 species in all. The African Giant Swallowtail and the big forest Charaxes are the most sensitive to logging, because they need tall closed-canopy forest.

The encouraging side is that Ghana treats butterflies as an asset. Bobiri was set aside as a butterfly sanctuary, Kakum markets its canopy fauna to visitors, and community reserves use butterfly walks to earn income from standing forest. Learn more about the forest, savanna and wetland habitats butterflies need in our guide to butterfly habitat.

Butterflies found in Ghana

404 species listed for Ghana, grouped by family. Linked names have a full profile on this site with pictures of every life stage.

Brush-Footed (Nymphalidae)

+ Show all 164 other brush-footed species names

• Abdera Acraea (Pseudathyma sibyllina)
• Absolon Forester (Bebearia absolon)
• African Castor (Ariadne enotrea)
• African Map Butterfly (Cyrestis camillus)
• Violet-eyed Evening Brown (Melanitis libya)
• Forest Patroller (Heteropsis peitho)
• African Snout Butterfly (Libythea labdaca)
• Atossa Nymph (Euriphene atossa)
• Bamboo Charaxes (Charaxes boueti)
• Black Friar (Amauris hecate)
• Black-bordered Charaxes (Charaxes pollux)
• Blue Demon Charaxes (Charaxes virilis)
• Danaid Eggfly (Hypolimnas misippus)
• Blue Leaf Butterfly (Junonia chorimene)
• Blue Monarch (Tirumala petiverana)
• Blue Patch Charaxes (Charaxes lactetinctus)
• Blue Spot Pansy (Junonia terea)
• Blue-spotted Charaxes (Charaxes ameliae)
• Boisduval's False Acraea (Pseudacraea boisduvalii)
• Bonasia Acraea (Acraea aurivillii)
• Brown Pansy (Junonia sophia)
• Clouded Mother-of-pearl (Precis sinuata)
• Common Acraea (Acraea encedana)
• Common Blue Charaxes (Charaxes tiridates)
• Common Blue-banded Forester (Euphaedra perseis)
• Common Bush Brown (Bicyclus abnormis)
• Common Ceres Forester (Euphaedra ceres)
• Common Club-dot Sailer (Neptis agouale)
• Common Commander (Euryphura chalcis)
• Common Euptera (Euptera crowleyi)
• Common Glassy Acraea (Acraea pseudepaea)
• Common Glider (Cymothoe caenis)
• Forest Leopard (Phalanta eurytis)
• Common Nymph (Euriphene barombina)
• Common Orange Forester (Euphaedra edwardsii)
• Common Red Charaxes (Charaxes lucretius)
• Common Ringlet (Ypthima vuattouxi)
• Common Themis Forester (Euphaedra themis)
• Condamin's Bush Brown (Bicyclus sambulos)
• Constricted Club-dot Sailer (Neptis troundi)
• Large Variable Diadem (Hypolimnas dinarcha)
• Dancing Acraea (Acraea rogersi)
• Dark Blue Pansy (Junonia hierta)
• Dark Vulgar Bush Brown (Bicyclus dorothea)
• Doriclea Nymph (Euriphene doriclea)
• Doubleday's Untailed Charaxes (Charaxes doubledayi)
• Dusky Evening Brown (Gnophodes betsimena)
• Dusky Friar (Amauris tartarea)
• Edward's Forester (Euphaedra zampa)
• Blood-brother Bematistes (Bematistes consanguinea)
• Eleus Orange Forester (Euphaedra francina)
• Euphaedra Charaxes (Charaxes fournierae)
• Evening Brown (Gnophodes chelys)
• Falcate Acraea (Acraea peneleos)
• Falcate Red Charaxes (Charaxes paphianus)
• False Diadem (Pseudacraea lucretia)
• False Wanderer (Pseudacraea eurytus)
• Fashion Commodore (Precis octavia)
• Flame-bordered Emperor (Charaxes protoclea)
• Forest Glade Nymph (Aterica galene)
• Forest Leopard (Lachnoptera anticlia)
• Forest Mother-of-pearl (Protogoniomorpha cytora)
• Friar (Amauris niavius)
• Gaudy Commodore (Precis ceryne)
• Ghana Ceres Forester (Euphaedra ignota)
• Giant Emperor (Charaxes castor)
• Golden Pansy (Hypolimnas salmacis)
• Golden Piper (Eurytela dryope)
• Green Demon Charaxes (Charaxes cedreatis)
• Green False Acraea (Pseudacraea semire)
• Grey Bush Brown (Bicyclus nobilis)
• Grose-Smith's Nymph (Euriphene grosesmithi)
• Guineafowl (Hamanumida daedalus)
• Hadrian's White Charaxes (Charaxes hadrianus)
• Herminia Glider (Cymothoe herminia)
• Hewitson's Acraea (Acraea alcinoe)
• Hildebrandt's Charaxes (Charaxes hildebrandti)
• Ignoble Bush Brown (Bicyclus trilophus)
• Imperial Blue Charaxes (Charaxes imperialis)
• Janetta Themis Forester (Euphaedra modesta)
• Jodutta Acraea (Acraea eugenia)
• Kiriakoff's Sailer (Neptis kiriakoffi)
• Kraka Glassy Acraea (Acraea jodutta)
• Large Alciope Acraea (Acraea alciope)
• Large Bush Brown (Bicyclus ephorus)
• Large Marble Bush Brown (Bicyclus sangmelinae)
• Large Pathfinder (Catuna angustatum)
• Large Smoky Acraea (Acraea caecilia)
• Large Spotted Acraea (Acraea vestalis)
• Large True Forester (Euphaedra sarcoptera)
• Large Variable Diadem (Hypolimnas anthedon)
• Le Doux's Glassy Acraea (Acraea encedon)
• Lesser Blue Charaxes (Charaxes numenes)
• Lesser Rock Bush Brown (Bicyclus pavonis)
• Light Bush Brown (Bicyclus vulgaris)
• Light-brown Forester (Bebearia zonara)
• Little Sailer (Neptis puella)
• Lycoa Acraea (Acraea leucographa)
• Mandinga Forester (Bebearia mandinga)
• Manx Charaxes (Charaxes nichetes)
• Marsh Commodore (Precis antilope)
• Marsh Ringlet (Ypthima impura)
• Mother-of-pearl (Protogoniomorpha parhassus)
• Nemetes Sailer (Neptis nemetes)
• Noble White Charaxes (Charaxes nobilis)
• Northcott's Charaxes (Charaxes northcotti)
• Oberthür's Pathfinder (Catuna oberthueri)
• Ochreous Tree Nymph (Sevenia umbrina)
• Orestia Glassy Acraea (Acraea neobule)
• Orina Acraea (Acraea orestia)
• Ornate Green Charaxes (Charaxes subornatus)
• Painted Empress (Apaturopsis cleochares)
• Lilac Mother-of-pearl (Salamis cacta)
• Pearl Emperor (Charaxes varanes)
• Pharsalus Acraea (Acraea perenna)
• Pierre's Acraea (Acraea egina)
• Pink Acraea (Acraea bonasia)
• Pink-washed Demon Charaxes (Charaxes plantroui)
• Plain Tiger (Danaus chrysippus)
• Porthos Untailed Charaxes (Charaxes porthos)
• Rare Musanga Acraea (Acraea umbra)
• Ribbe's Glassy Acraea (Acraea kraka)
• Rock Bush Brown (Bicyclus procora)
• Rogers's Large Acraea (Acraea quirina)
• Savanna Demon Charaxes (Charaxes viola)
• Savanna Sailer (Neptis morosa)
• Savannah Charaxes (Charaxes etesipe)
• Scarce Clubbed Sailer (Neptis nicobule)
• Shining Blue Forester (Bebearia carshena)
• Shining Red Charaxes (Charaxes zingha)
• Small Flame-bordered Charaxes (Charaxes anticlea)
• Small Monk (Amauris damocles)
• Small Yellow-banded Acraea (Acraea abdera)
• Smoky Bematistes (Acraea vesperalis)
• Soldier Commodore (Junonia stygia)
• Sophus Forester (Bebearia sophus)
• Spotted Joker (Byblia ilithyia)
• Startled Bush Brown (Bicyclus campa)
• Streaked Sailer (Neptis melicerta)
• Strigate Sailer (Neptis strigata)
• Suffert's Commander (Euryphura togoensis)
• Swamp Palm Forester (Bebearia paludicola)
• Tailed Bush Brown (Bicyclus sandace)
• Translucent Acraea (Acraea serena)
• Two-tailed Pasha (Charaxes epijasius)
• Unmarked Pink Forester (Euphaedra diffusa)
• Variable Eggfly (Catacroptera cloanthe)
• Violet-banded Palla (Palla violinitens)
• Vulgar Bush Brown (Bicyclus taenias)
• Wandering Donkey Acraea (Acraea macaria)
• Western Musanga Acraea (Acraea pharsalus)
• Western Blotched Leopard (Acraea zetes)
• Western Blue Beauty (Protogoniomorpha anacardii)
• Western Blue Charaxes (Charaxes smaragdalis)
• Weymer's Glider (Cymothoe weymeri)
• White Acraea (Acraea camaena)
• White-banded Castor (Ariadne albifascia)
• White-banded Palla (Palla decius)
• White-barred Emperor (Charaxes brutus)
• White-tipped Bush Brown (Bicyclus angulosa)
• Wide-banded Commodore (Precis pelarga)
• Volta Pansy (Junonia hadrope)
• Yellow-base Sailer (Neptis metella)
• Heteropsis decira

Gossamer-Winged (Lycaenidae)

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• Acraea Blue (Aethiopana honorius)
• African Babul Blue (Azanus jesous)
• African Line Blue (Pseudonacaduba sichela)
• African Moth Butterfly (Euliphyra mirifica)
• Anomalous Ciliate Blue (Anthene juba)
• Audeoud's Blue (Cacyreus audeoudi)
• Barker's Smoky Blue (Euchrysops barkeri)
• Black-bordered Babul Blue (Azanus moriqua)
• Black-spotted Ciliate Blue (Cupidesthes mimetica)
• Black-striped Hairtail (Anthene amarah)
• Black-wing Epitola (Geritola virginea)
• Bright Babul Blue (Azanus ubaldus)
• Brown Dots (Micropentila brunnea)
• Capronnier's Cupid (Euchrysops albistriata)
• Cellular Harlequin (Mimeresia cellularis)
• Cephena Epitola (Cephetola cephena)
• Cercene Epitola (Stempfferia cercene)
• Common Acraea Mimic (Mimacraea darwinia)
• Common Bush Blue (Cacyreus lingeus)
• Common Dots (Micropentila adelgitha)
• Common Flash (Hypophytala hyettoides)
• Common Giant Epitola (Epitola posthumus)
• Common Ginger White (Oboronia punctatus)
• Common Hairtail (Anthene definita)
• Common Harlequin (Mimeresia libentina)
• Common Indigo Ciliate Blue (Anthene sylvanus)
• Common Meadow Blue (Cupidopsis cissus)
• Common Pearly (Eresiomera isca)
• Common Smoky Blue (Euchrysops malathana)
• Crawshay's Hairtail (Anthene crawshayi)
• Cupreous Hairtail (Anthene princeps)
• Curious Ciliate Blue (Anthene locuples)
• Debora's Harlequin (Mimeresia debora)
• Disparate Sylph (Epitolina dispar)
• Dorothea's Dots (Micropentila dorothea)
• Druce's Large Woolly Legs (Lachnocnema luna)
• Dudgeon's Cupid (Eicochrysops dudgeoni)
• Eltringham's Sapphire Gem (Iridana hypocala)
• Exquisite Sapphire Gem (Iridana exquisita)
• Fairy White (Argyrocheila undifera)
• Ferryman's Liptena (Liptena ferrymani)
• Gerina Epitola (Geritola gerina)
• Ghana Sapphire Gem (Iridana ghanana)
• Golden Ciliate Blue (Anthene scintillula)
• Grass Jewel (Freyeria trochylus)
• Greasy Epitola (Cephetola sublustris)
• Grose-Smith's Flash (Hypophytala henleyi)
• Güssfeldt's Blue (Oboronia guessfeldti)
• Holland's Flash (Hypophytala benitensis)
• Imitating Aslauga (Aslauga imitans)
• Incredible Sapphire Gem (Iridana incredibilis)
• Indigo Ciliate Blue (Anthene rubricinctus)
• Irumu Ciliate Blue (Anthene irumu)
• Jackson's Cupid (Euchrysops reducta)
• Jeannel's Blue (Leptotes jeanneli)
• Lamborn's Aslauga (Aslauga lamborni)
• Lang's Short-tailed Blue (Leptotes pirithous)
• Large Dots (Micropentila adelgunda)
• Large Tiger Blue (Hewitsonia boisduvalii)
• Large Yellow (Citrinophila erastus)
• Leonine Ciliate Blue (Cupidesthes leonina)
• Lesser Indigo Ciliate Blue (Anthene ligures)
• Lesser Moth Butterfly (Euliphyra leucyania)
• Libert's Large Woolly Legs (Lachnocnema albimacula)
• Light Ginger White (Oboronia pseudopunctatus)
• Liodes Hairtail (Anthene liodes)
• Little Epitola (Stempfferia zelza)
• Long-tailed Blue (Lampides boeticus)
• Lunulated Hairtail (Anthene lunulata)
• Maessen's Eresina (Eresina maesseni)
• Mediterranean Pierrot (Tarucus rosacea)
• Melissa Sylph (Epitolina melissa)
• Nigerian Glasswing (Ornipholidotos nigeriae)
• Nigerian Sapphire Gem (Iridana nigeriana)
• Onitsha Glasswing (Ornipholidotos onitshae)
• Osiris Smoky Blue (Euchrysops osiris)
• Pale Babul Blue (Azanus mirza)
• Pied Blue (Phlyaria cyara)
• Pink Liptena (Liptena evanescens)
• Punguse's Ciliate Blue (Cupidesthes pungusei)
• Purple Giant Epitola (Epitola urania)
• Rayed Blue (Actizera lucida)
• Red-patch Epitolina (Epitolina catori)
• Red-patch Liptena (Liptena catalina)
• Reutlinger' Large Woolly Legs (Lachnocnema reutlingeri)
• Roche's Epitola (Cephetola subcoerulea)
• Seven-striped Liptena (Liptena septistrigata)
• Short-toothed Blue (Leptotes brevidentatus)
• Silky Ciliate Blue (Anthene lachares)
• Silvery Epitola (Cerautola ceraunia)
• Similar Liptena (Liptena similis)
• Similar Yellow (Citrinophila similis)
• Sky-blue Cupid (Chilades eleusis)
• Spotted Hairtail (Anthene larydas)
• Stempffer's On-off (Tetrarhanis stempfferi)
• Tinted Blue (Thermoniphas micylus)
• Toothed White Woolly Legs (Lachnocnema disrupta)
• Unexpected Tiger Blue (Hewitsonia inexpectata)
• Ungemach's Pierrot (Tarucus ungemachi)
• Vane-Wright's Glasswing (Ornipholidotos irwini)
• Variable Harlequin (Pseuderesia eleaza)
• Violet-spotted Ciliate Blue (Anthene lysicles)
• Volta Ciliate Blue (Cupidesthes lithas)
• Warm Sienna Eresina (Eresina pseudofusca)
• Western Aslauga (Aslauga marginalis)
• Western Black-spot Ciliate Blue (Anthene starki)
• Western Brown-edged Cupid (Euchrysops sahelianus)
• Western Giant Cupid (Lepidochrysops parsimon)
• Western Kakumia (Kakumia otlauga)
• Western Moth Butterfly (Euliphyra hewitsoni)
• Western Woolly Legs (Lachnocnema vuattouxi)
• White-banded Babul Blue (Azanus isis)
• White-tipped Blue (Eicochrysops hippocrates)
• Wilson's Hairtail (Anthene wilsoni)
• Yellow Liptena (Liptena xanthostola)

Whites and Sulphurs (Pieridae)

+ Show all 30 whites and sulphurs species names

• African Albatross (Appias epaphia)
• African Common White (Belenois creona)
• African Veined White (Belenois gidica)
• African Wood White (Leptosia alcesta)
• Black-edged Spirit (Leptosia marginea)
• Black-Veined White (Dixeia doxo)
• Calypso White (Belenois calypso)
• Common Dotted Border (Mylothris rhodope)
• Common Evening Brown (Nepheronia argia)
• Common Grass Yellow (Eurema hecabe)
• Congo White (Appias phaola)
• Creamy Small White (Dixeia orbona)
• Crimsontip (Colotis danae)
• Forest Grass Yellow (Eurema senegalensis)
• Great Evening Brown (Nepheronia pharis)
• Hybrid Wood White (Leptosia hybrida)
• Lilac Tip (Colotis celimene)
• Malagasy Grass Yellow (Eurema floricola)
• Marsh Grass Yellow (Eurema hapale)
• No-brand Grass-yellow (Eurema brigitta)
• Northern Caper White (Belenois subeida)
• Pale Grass Blue (Catopsilia florella)
• Pioneer White (Belenois aurota)
• Red Tip (Colotis antevippe)
• Sabine Albatross (Appias sabina)
• Schumann's Dotted Border (Mylothris schumanni)
• Small Orange-tip (Colotis evagore)
• Spotted Crimson (Colotis euippe)
• Western Dotted Border (Mylothris chloris)
• Woodland Albatross White (Appias sylvia)

Metalmark (Riodinidae)

• Dark Banded Judy (Abisara gerontes)
• Plain Judy (Abisara intermedia)
• Blue-spot Judy (Abisara tantalus)

Swallowtail (Papilionidae)

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• African Giant Swallowtail (Papilio antimachus)
• Almansor White-lady Swallowtail (Graphium almansor)
• Angola White Lady (Graphium angolanus)
• Apple-green Swallowtail (Papilio phorcas)
• Boisduval's White Lady (Graphium adamastor)
• Broadly Green-banded Swallowtail (Papilio chrapkowskoides)
• Common Swordtail (Graphium policenes)
• Coppery Swordtail (Graphium latreillianus)
• Electric Green Swordtail (Graphium tynderaeus)
• Green-banded Swallowtail (Papilio sosia)
• Larger Striped Swallowtail (Graphium antheus)
• Mimetic Swallowtail (Papilio cynorta)
• Mocker Swallowtail (Papilio dardanus)
• Nireus Swallowtail (Papilio nireus)
• Veined Swordtail (Graphium leonidas)
• Western Bush Kite Swallowtail (Papilio horribilis)
• Western Emperor Swallowtail (Papilio menestheus)
• Westwood's White Lady (Graphium agamedes)
• Zenobia Swallowtail (Papilio zenobia)

Skipper (Hesperiidae)

+ Show all 69 skipper species names

• Abject Hopper (Astictopterus abjecta)
• African Giant Skipper (Pyrrhochalcia iphis)
• Bina Leaf Sitter (Gorgyra bina)
• Black Grass Skipper (Monza alberti)
• Black-tufted White-spots (Osmodes lindseyi)
• Black-veined White-spots (Osmodes costatus)
• Blotched Leaf Sitter (Gorgyra aretina)
• Spotless Policeman (Coeliades libeon)
• Borbo Skipper (Borbo borbonica)
• Bronze Policeman (Coeliades chalybe)
• Brown Forest Swift (Melphina noctula)
• Common Acraea Skipper (Fresna netopha)
• Common Crepuscular Skipper (Gretna waga)
• Common Dart (Andronymus neander)
• Common Forest Swift (Melphina unistriga)
• Common Leaf Sitter (Gorgyra sara)
• Common Recluse (Caenides dacela)
• Common White-spots (Osmodes thora)
• Confused Recluse (Leona stoehri)
• Dark Blue Policeman (Coeliades bixana)
• Dark Brown Missile (Meza mabea)
• Dark Leaf Sitter (Gorgyra diversata)
• Detached White-spots (Osmodes lux)
• Drab Three-spot Missile (Meza cybeutes)
• Evan's Recluse (Leona halma)
• Evans' Acraea Skipper (Fresna carlo)
• Fanta Swift (Borbo fanta)
• Striped Policeman (Coeliades forestan)
• Giant Crepuscular Skipper (Gretna balenge)
• Grand Skipper (Gamia buchholzi)
• Hanno's Policeman (Coeliades hanno)
• Large Acraea Skipper (Fresna cojo)
• Large Leaf Sitter (Gorgyra afikpo)
• Large Recluse (Leona binoevatus)
• Large White-spots (Osmodes laronia)
• Lesser Crepuscular Skipper (Gretna cylinda)
• Lesser Grand Skipper (Gamia shelleyi)
• Lesser Ochreous Dart (Andronymus helles)
• Lobed Skipper (Osphantes ogowena)
• Maessen's Acraea Skipper (Fresna maesseni)
• Marsh Hottentot Skipper (Gegenes hottentota)
• Melou's Recluse (Leona meloui)
• Miller's Leaf Sitter (Gorgyra bule)
• Mocquery's leaf sitter (Gorgyra mocquerysii)
• No-spot Recluse (Caenides dacenilla)
• Obsolete White-spots (Osmodes omar)
• Ochreous Dart (Andronymus evander)
• Otilia's Recluse (Caenides otilia)
• Pale Leaf Sitter (Gorgyra pali)
• Pearl-spotted Forest Sylph (Ceratrichia argyrosticta)
• Powdered Dusky Skipper (Acleros nigrapex)
• Pygmy Skipper (Gegenes pumilio)
• Scarce Dart (Andronymus hero)
• Scarce Forest Swift (Melphina tarace)
• Scarce Small Recluse (Leona lota)
• Small Swift (Borbo perobscura)
• Snowy Missile (Meza indusiata)
• Tufted Forest Sylph (Ceratrichia semilutea)
• Twin Swift (Borbo gemella)
• Two-pip Policeman (Coeliades pisistratus)
• Unbranded Recluse (Caenides xychus)
• Well-spotted Recluse (Caenides soritia)
• Western Nightfighter (Artitropa comus)
• White Dart (Andronymus caesar)
• White-fringed Recluse (Caenides dacena)
• White-spotted Recluse (Leona leonora)
• White-tufted Leaf Sitter (Gorgyra heterochrus)
• Yellow Forest Swift (Melphina flavina)
• Yellow-spotted Recluse (Caenides kangvensis)

How to identify butterflies in Ghana

With several hundred candidates, identification in Ghana starts with family and habit rather than colour. A large, fast butterfly that shoots past at head height and lands on a fruit bait or a wet patch is usually a Charaxes; check the number of hindwing tails and the colour of the bands. Orange butterflies with a slow, weak flight and transparent wing tips are Acraeas, which advertise their distastefulness rather than hide. Foresters glide low through shaded understorey and flash green, blue or orange from above.

Small, bright butterflies with hair-like tails belong to the Lycaenidae, and in forest many of the tiny black-and-orange or white-and-black species are Liptenines, best identified from a photograph of the underside. The metalmarks in Ghana are the three Judies, brown with a row of eyespots and a habit of resting with the wings half open. Skippers are the hardest group of all. For any West African species, photographs of both wing surfaces plus the date and habitat are what an expert asks for first. The broader country lists under Butterflies of the World show how Ghana's fauna compares with the rest of Africa.

Frequently asked questions about butterflies in Ghana

How many butterfly species are there in Ghana?

More than 900 butterfly species have been recorded in Ghana, making it one of the richest countries for butterflies in West Africa. The total is high because the country contains both Upper Guinea rainforest and Guinea savanna, each with its own fauna. About 400 of the most recognisable species are listed on this page.

Are there butterflies found only in Ghana?

Very few. Almost all of Ghana's butterflies also fly in neighbouring Ivory Coast, Togo and Nigeria, because they belong to the Upper Guinea forest fauna. The handful of true endemics are mostly restricted to the Atewa Range, such as the dotted border Mylothris atewa. The Ghana Ceres Forester, often called endemic, actually ranges east to the Congo basin.

What is the largest butterfly in Ghana?

The African Giant Swallowtail, Papilio antimachus, is the largest butterfly in Ghana and in all of Africa, with a wingspan of up to about 23 centimetres. It is a rare canopy species of tall rainforest, seen mostly when males descend to drink at wet sand. Ghana's forest reserves are among its few remaining West African strongholds.

Which butterfly family is most common in Ghana?

The brush-footed butterflies, family Nymphalidae, are the largest group in Ghana with well over 300 species. They include the fruit-feeding Charaxes, the warningly coloured Acraeas, the forest Foresters, the Sailers, Commodores and the roadside Pansies. The gossamer-winged Lycaenidae come a close second and include Ghana's many small lichen-feeding Liptenines.

Which Charaxes butterflies live in Ghana?

Ghana has roughly forty Charaxes species, fast, heavy-bodied brush-footed butterflies with tailed hindwings. Well-known ones include the Common Blue Charaxes, Black-bordered Charaxes, Blue Demon Charaxes, Bamboo Charaxes, Green Demon Charaxes and the Two-tailed Pasha. They rarely visit flowers and are best seen at fermenting fruit, dung or damp ground in forest clearings.

What is the African Map Butterfly?

The African Map Butterfly, Cyrestis camillus, is a white brush-footed butterfly crossed by fine dark lines that look like the contours of a map. It lives in Ghana's forests, where it rests flat with wings spread on the underside of leaves or on damp ground. It belongs to the same family, Nymphalidae, as the Charaxes and Pansies.

Which Pansy butterflies are found in Ghana?

Several Junonia species, known as Pansies, are common in Ghana's open country and gardens. The Blue Pansy, Junonia oenone, is the most familiar, followed by the Blue Spot Pansy, Brown Pansy, Dark Blue Pansy, Golden Pansy and the Volta Pansy. All are medium-sized brush-foots with eyespots that bask on bare ground in full sun.

When is the best time to see butterflies in Ghana?

The best months are during and just after the rains: May to July and October to November in the south, when fresh adults emerge in large numbers. Butterflies fly all year, but the dry Harmattan season from December to February is the low point, with fewer and more worn individuals in the forest zone.

Where are the best places to see butterflies in Ghana?

Kakum National Park near Cape Coast, with about 600 recorded species and a canopy walkway, and the Bobiri Forest Butterfly Sanctuary near Kumasi are the easiest to visit. The Atewa Range Forest Reserve is the richest site, with roughly 700 species, while Mole National Park and the Shai Hills show the savanna butterflies.

Is the Plain Tiger in Ghana the same as the Monarch?

No. The Plain Tiger, Danaus chrysippus, is a close African relative of the North American Monarch, Danaus plexippus, but a different species. It is smaller, with a plain orange wing that lacks the Monarch's black veins, and it is common across Ghana's savanna and towns. Both store milkweed toxins that make them distasteful to birds.

Published November 2, 2023 · Last updated September 21, 2026