Butterflies in Kenya
Kenya has close to 900 butterfly species, one of the richest faunas in Africa, packed into a country that runs from Indian Ocean mangroves to the snow of Mount Kenya. The Kakamega rainforest in the west alone holds around 490 species, including the African Giant Swallowtail, and the coastal Arabuko-Sokoke forest is home to the Kipepeo butterfly-farming project. Charaxes, swallowtails, pansies, acraeas and hundreds of small blues and skippers fly all year on the equator, with peaks after the long rains of March to May and the short rains of October to December.
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Butterflies of Kenya at a glance
Kenya sits on the equator between the Congo forest belt, the dry Horn of Africa and the Indian Ocean, and it borrows butterflies from all three. Close to 900 species have been recorded, which places the country among the richest in Africa outside the Congo basin and well above the figure of 500 that older guides repeat. The reason is altitude and rainfall: a day's drive runs from coastal forest through thorn savanna and the tea highlands to moorland above 3,000 metres on Mount Kenya, and each zone has its own butterflies.
All five major families are here. The brush-footed butterflies supply the big, showy species: the robust Charaxes emperors, the slow-flying acraeas, the pansies of the genus Junonia, the sailers and the diadems. The gossamer-winged family is the largest by number, with hundreds of blues, sapphires, playboys and hairtails, many of them tiny. The whites and sulphurs include the orange tips of the genus Colotis that colour the dry country, the swallowtails give Kenya its largest butterflies, and the skippers, with the policemen, sylphs and swifts, are more diverse here than almost anywhere in Africa.
Signature Kenyan butterflies
The African Giant Swallowtail (Papilio antimachus) is the largest butterfly on the continent, with a forewing span that can reach 23 centimetres. Its Kenyan population survives only in the Kakamega Forest, where males patrol the canopy and drop to river banks to drink; females are almost never seen. The Emperor Swallowtail and Constantine's Swallowtail are the big black-and-cream swallowtails of the highland forests and Nairobi gardens, and the Mimetic Swallowtail copies the distasteful acraeas so faithfully that it was once described as a separate genus.
The Charaxes are Kenya's signature brush-foots: fast, heavy-bodied butterflies that ignore flowers and feed on fermenting fruit, sap and dung. Several dozen species occur in the country, from the Pearl Emperor and the Two-tailed Pasha of the savanna to the Common Forest Queen and the Wild-bamboo Charaxes of the mountain forests.
The pansies are the butterflies visitors notice first. The Blue Pansy and the African Pansy sit open-winged on bare ground along every track, and the Painted Lady, the same species that migrates through Europe, is common in the highlands. The Leopard, a tawny butterfly with black spots, flies in almost every garden, and the Citrus Swallowtail, known on this site as the Christmas butterfly, lays on lemon and orange trees across the country. Among the skippers, the Coast Policeman and its relatives are large, fast, brown-and-white skippers of the coastal forests that fly at dawn and dusk.
The Kenyan butterfly calendar
On the equator there is no winter and no true off-season; butterflies fly in every month. What sets the rhythm is rain. Kenya has two wet seasons, the long rains of March to May and the short rains of October to December, and butterfly numbers climb within weeks of each one as host plants flush with new leaves. April to June is the best period in most of the country, with a second peak in November and December, while the dry months of January, February and August to September are quietest, especially in the savanna.
Rain also sets off migrations. The Brown-veined White (Belenois aurota) is the great African migrant, and after good rains millions stream across the Kenyan savanna and through Nairobi in a north-easterly direction, a spectacle that can last for weeks. The African Migrant and several Colotis orange tips make smaller movements, and the Painted Lady drifts through the highlands. Our guide to butterfly migration explains how these flights differ from the Monarch's round trip.
Where to see butterflies in Kenya
Kenya's forests are small islands in a sea of savanna and farmland, and that is where the butterflies concentrate.
- Kakamega Forest, Western Kenya — the easternmost fragment of the Guineo-Congolian rainforest, with around 490 species including the African Giant Swallowtail, the Blue Diadem and the forest Charaxes; best from April to July.
- Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, near Malindi — the largest coastal forest in East Africa, home of the Kipepeo Project, where local farmers rear pupae for export; roughly 260 species including the Coast Policeman.
- Taita Hills — cloud-forest remnants that hold the Taita Blue-banded Swallowtail and other endemics.
- Nairobi — Karura Forest, the Nairobi Arboretum and Nairobi National Park have well over a hundred species within the city, with Emperor Swallowtails and Pearl Emperors in suburban gardens.
- Mount Kenya and the Aberdares — montane forest species on the lower slopes and a few hardy blues and browns on the moorland above the tree line.
Across the western border the same forest fauna continues in Uganda, while the savanna and coastal species are shared southwards with Tanzania and South Africa.
Host plants and butterfly gardening in Kenya
A Kenyan garden can hold fifty butterfly species with almost no effort, because the climate lets nectar flowers bloom year-round. The difference between a garden with butterflies passing through and one where they breed is the choice of native caterpillar host plants.
- Citrus trees — lemon, orange and lime feed the Citrus and Emperor Swallowtails; the young caterpillar looks like a bird dropping and the older one is green with eyespots.
- Passion vines and wild Adenia — the food of the acraeas, whose spiny caterpillars often feed in groups.
- Acacia, croton and Allophylus — host plants of many Charaxes; a single wild acacia can support several species.
- Capers and Boscia — the shrubs the Colotis orange tips and the Brown-veined White lay on in dry country.
- Grasses left to seed — the bush browns, ringlets and most of the skippers breed in them, so an unmown corner matters more than any flower.
For nectar, Lantana, Pentas, Plumbago, wild basil and the flowers of croton and Vernonia draw butterflies all year, and a tray of overripe bananas or mango is the surest way to bring the fruit-feeding Charaxes, diadems and bush browns to a fixed spot.
Rare and threatened butterflies in Kenya
Kenya's butterflies are concentrated in its forests, and its forests are shrinking. Kakamega lost more than half its area during the twentieth century to farming and logging, and the Taita Hills retain only small islands of cloud forest on their summits. The Taita Blue-banded Swallowtail (Papilio desmondi teita), found nowhere else, is classed as critically endangered for that reason, and several Taita blues and the forest acraeas are almost as restricted.
The African Giant Swallowtail persists in Kakamega but in tiny numbers, and coastal specialists such as the Coast Policeman depend on Arabuko-Sokoke, a forest that was itself threatened by clearance before the Kipepeo Project began in 1993. That scheme, in which farmers on the forest edge rear pupae of local species for live-butterfly exhibits abroad, has paid out millions of shillings to households and turned a resource once cut for charcoal into an income that depends on keeping the trees standing.
Elsewhere charcoal burning, overgrazing and invasive plants are eroding the dry-country fauna, while the highland forests inside national parks remain in reasonable shape. Kenya has no butterfly red list of its own, so most assessments rely on the global IUCN list, which covers only a fraction of the fauna.
Butterflies found in Kenya
164 species listed for Kenya, grouped by family. Linked names have a full profile on this site with pictures of every life stage.
Brush-Footed (Nymphalidae)
Show all 28 brush-footed species names
- African Pansy (Junonia artaxia)
- African Ringlet (Ypthima asterope)
- Air Commodore (Precis actia)
- Blue Diadem (Hypolimnas salmacis)
- Bonasia Acraea (Acraea baxteri philos)
- Common Club-dot Sailer (Neptis agouale)
- Common Forest Queen (Charaxes eurinome)
- Eastern Musanga Acraea (Acraea excelsior)
- Falcate Red Charaxes (Charaxes paphianus)
- Golden Piper (Eurytela dryope)
- Jordan's Sailer (Neptis jordani)
- Kiriakoff's Sailer (Neptis kiriakoffi)
- Large Spotted Acraea (Acraea zetes)
- Le Doux's Glassy Acraea (Acraea endoscota)
- Lesser Rock Bush Brown (Bicyclus milyas)
- Nemetes Sailer (Neptis nemetes)
- Northern Short-tailed Admiral (Vanessa dimorphica)
- Pearl Emperor (Charaxes varanes)
- Rock Bush Brown (Bicyclus pavonis)
- Savanna Demon Charaxes (Charaxes viola)
- Scarce Commander (Euryphura isuka)
- Sophus Forester (Bebearia sophus)
- Startled Bush Brown (Bicyclus angulosa)
- Straw-coloured Acraea (Acraea rangatana ecketti)
- Sykes' Acraea (Acraea pudorella)
- Two-tailed Pasha (Charaxes jasius)
- Wandering Donkey Acraea (Acraea neobule)
- Wild-bamboo Charaxes (Charaxes macclounii)
Gossamer-Winged (Lycaenidae)
Show all 47 gossamer-winged species names
- Antanossa Blue (Zizina antanossa)
- Apricot Playboy (Deudorix dinochares)
- Ashen Smoky Blue (Euchrysops subpallida)
- Barker's Smoky Blue (Euchrysops barkeri)
- Black Heart (Uranothauma nubifer)
- Black-bordered Zebra Blue (Leptotes marginalis)
- Black-striped Hairtail (Anthene amarah)
- Blotched Ciliate Blue (Anthene lamias)
- Bright Babul Blue (Azanus ubaldus)
- Capronnier's Cupid (Euchrysops albistriata)
- Checkered Gem (Zeritis neriene)
- Common Smoky Blue (Euchrysops malathana)
- Common Woolly Legs (Lachnocnema bibulus)
- Dark Line Blue (Pseudonacaduba aethiops)
- Desert Blue (Euchrysops nilotica)
- Divergent Woolly Legs (Lachnocnema divergens)
- Eastern Bath White (Tarucus theophrastus)
- Eastern Green-streaked Playboy (Pilodeudorix congoana)
- False Hairtail (Anthene nigeriae)
- Grass Jewel (Freyeria trochylus)
- Güssfeldt's Blue (Oboronia guessfeldti)
- Iasis Sapphire (Iolaus iasis)
- Indigo Ciliate Blue (Anthene rubricinctus)
- Jeannel's Blue (Leptotes jeanneli)
- Le Gras' Pierrot (Tarucus legrasi)
- Light Branded Blue (Uranothauma heritsia)
- Lilac Giant Cupid (Lepidochrysops polydialecta)
- Mau Blue (Euchrysops mauensis)
- Mediterranean Pierrot (Tarucus rosacea)
- Mylothrid Pentila (Pentila tachyroides)
- Osiris Smoky Blue (Euchrysops osiris)
- Pallene Warden (Iolaus pallene)
- Pied Blue (Phlyaria cyara)
- Pollux Sapphire (Iolaus pollux)
- Pomegranate Playboy (Deudorix livia)
- Purple-brown Hairstreak (Hypolycaena philippus)
- Rayed Blue (Actizera lucida)
- Red Harlequin (Mimeresia dinora)
- Saharan Silverline (Cigaritis nilus)
- Short-toothed Blue (Leptotes brevidentatus)
- Small Green Sapphire (Iolaus catori)
- Tufted Green-streaked Playboy (Pilodeudorix camerona)
- Unexpected Tiger Blue (Hewitsonia inexpectata)
- Ungemach's Pierrot (Tarucus ungemachi)
- Water Bronze (Cacyreus tespis)
- Western Woolly Legs (Lachnocnema vuattouxi)
- Wilson's Hairtail (Anthene wilsoni)
Whites and Sulphurs (Pieridae)
Show all 25 whites and sulphurs species names
- African Golden Arab (Colotis aurigineus)
- Antheap White (Dixeia pigea)
- Autumn-leaf Vagrant (Eronia leda)
- Buquet's Vagrant (Nepheronia buquetii)
- Desert White (Pontia glauconome)
- Eastern Dotted Border (Mylothris agathina)
- Forest White (Belenois zochalia)
- Golden Arab-tip (Colotis chrysonome)
- Golden Tip (Colotis hildebrandtii)
- Last's Albatross (Appias lasti)
- Lilac Tip (Colotis celimene)
- No Patch Tip (Colotis venosa)
- Queen Purple Tip (Colotis regina)
- Rogers' Orange Tip (Colotis rogersi)
- Schumann's Dotted Border (Mylothris schumanni)
- Small Meadow White (Pontia distorta)
- Small Orange Tip (Colotis evagore antigone)
- Spiller's Yellow (Dixeia spilleri)
- Sulphur Orange Tip (Colotis auxo)
- Yellow Orange Tip (Colotis incretus)
- Yellow Splendour Tip (Colotis protomedia)
- Colotis aurora evarne
- Colotis danae eupompe
- Mylothris kilimensis
- Pontia helice johnstonii
Swallowtail (Papilionidae)
Show all 10 swallowtail species names
- Black Swordtail (Graphium colonna)
- Constantine's Swallowtail (Papilio constantinus)
- Central Emperor Swallowtail (Papilio lormieri)
- Larger Striped Swallowtail (Graphium antheus)
- Mimetic Swallowtail (Papilio cynorta)
- Broad Green-banded Swallowtail (Papilio chrapkowskii)
- Hornimans Green-banded Swallowtail (Papilio hornimani)
- Emperor Swallowtail (Papilio ophidicephalus)
- Kirby's Swordtail (Graphium kirbyi)
- Dancing Swordtail (Graphium polistratus)
Skipper (Hesperiidae)
Show all 54 skipper species names
- Aden Skipper (Spialia doris)
- Arabian Grizzled Skipper (Spialia mangana)
- Arela Dart (Semalea arela)
- Axehead Skipper (Acada biseriata)
- Beautiful Swift (Willema formosus)
- Branded Dwarf Skipper (Prosopalpus saga)
- Coast Policeman (Coeliades sejuncta)
- Common Dart (Andronymus neander)
- Common White-spots (Osmodes thora)
- Delagoa Sandman (Spialia delagoae)
- Evan's Recluse (Leona halma)
- Fanta Swift (Borbo fanta)
- Ferruginous Swift (Borbo ferruginea)
- Golden Sylph (Metisella midas)
- Hanno's Policeman (Coeliades hanno)
- Herilus Orange (Teniorhinus herilus)
- Honey Hopper (Platylesches moritili)
- Johnston's Ranger (Gorgyra johnstoni)
- Kitui Grizzled Skipper (Spialia kituina)
- Marbled Skipper (Gomalia elma)
- Minimal Leaf Sitter (Gorgyra minima)
- Morant's Skipper (Parosmodes morantii)
- Netted Sylph (Metisella willemi)
- Noble Nightfighter (Zophopetes nobilior)
- One-pip Policeman (Coeliades anchises)
- Orange Flat (Sarangesa phidyle)
- Pale Ranger (Dotta callicles)
- Paradise Skipper (Abantis paradisea)
- Purple Flat (Eagris decastigma)
- Riverine Ranger (Ampittia capenas)
- Small Hopper (Platylesches tina)
- Small Marbled Elf (Eretis umbra)
- Spangled Sylph (Astictopterus stellata)
- Spotted Velvet Skipper (Abantis tettensis)
- Two-pip Policeman (Coeliades pisistratus)
- Veined Skipper (Abantis venosa)
- Wallengren's Ranger (Kedestes wallengrenii)
- Wandering Sandman (Spialia depauperata)
- Western Ragged Skipper (Caprona adelica)
- White-bodied Grass Skipper (Monza cretacea)
- Wreford's Grizzled Skipper (Spialia wrefordi)
- Abantis meru
- Artitropa reducta
- Celaenorrhinus handmani
- Celaenorrhinus lourentis
- Ceratrichia semlikensis
- Chondrolepis telisignata
- Gorgyra diva
- Gorgyra subflavidus
- Kedestes brunneostriga
- Kedestes nancy
- Kedestes rogersi
- Leucochitonea hindei
- Sarangesa princei
How to identify a butterfly in Kenya
With close to 900 species, identification in Kenya starts with the family rather than the species. A big black swallowtail with cream or green bands is a Papilio; a slender one with swept-back wings and a long tail is a swordtail of the genus Graphium. A heavy, fast orange-and-brown butterfly with tails on the hindwing that sits on fruit is a Charaxes. Long, narrow, translucent orange wings and a slow, floppy flight mean an acraea, and a bright butterfly with a row of eyespots that basks on bare ground is a pansy.
A white with an orange, red, lilac or yellow wingtip is a Colotis, and there are more than a dozen. The small blues are hardest; check the underside pattern, the tails and the habitat, and expect a genus rather than a species from a field view. The season matters too, because many Kenyan species have distinct wet- and dry-season forms. The country pages under Butterflies of the World cover the rest of the continent.
Frequently asked questions about Kenyan butterflies
How many butterfly species are found in Kenya?
Close to 900 butterfly species have been recorded in Kenya, which makes it one of the richest countries in Africa for butterflies. The figure of 500 that is often quoted is an undercount. The Kakamega Forest alone holds around 490 species, and the coastal Arabuko-Sokoke Forest about 260.
What is the largest butterfly in Kenya?
The African Giant Swallowtail (Papilio antimachus) is the largest butterfly in Kenya and in all of Africa, with a wingspan that can reach about 23 centimetres. In Kenya it survives only in the Kakamega Forest, where males are occasionally seen drinking at river banks. Females stay in the canopy and are very rarely observed.
Does Kenya have a national butterfly?
No, Kenya has not designated an official national butterfly. The African Giant Swallowtail is the flagship of the Kakamega Forest and the Taita Blue-banded Swallowtail is the emblem of the Taita Hills, but neither has formal national status. Kenya's official national symbols are the lion, the black-shouldered kite and the fig tree.
What are the most common butterflies in Kenya?
The Citrus Swallowtail, the Blue and African Pansies, the Leopard, the Brown-veined White, the African Migrant and the Colotis orange tips are the butterflies seen most often across Kenya. In gardens the Emperor Swallowtail and the fruit-feeding Charaxes are regular, and in the highlands the Painted Lady is common.
Are Charaxes butterflies found in Kenya?
Yes, several dozen Charaxes species live in Kenya, from the Pearl Emperor and Two-tailed Pasha of the savanna to the Common Forest Queen and Wild-bamboo Charaxes of the mountain forests. They are fast, heavy-bodied butterflies that feed on fermenting fruit, sap and dung rather than flowers, and a rotting banana will attract them.
When is the best time to see butterflies in Kenya?
April to June, after the long rains, is the best period across most of Kenya, with a second peak in November and December after the short rains. Butterflies fly all year on the equator, but numbers drop in the dry months of January to February and August to September, especially in the savanna.
Where is the best place to see butterflies in Kenya?
Kakamega Forest in western Kenya is the best site, with around 490 species including the African Giant Swallowtail and the forest Charaxes. Arabuko-Sokoke Forest on the coast, home of the Kipepeo butterfly project, is second, and Karura Forest and the Arboretum offer well over a hundred species inside Nairobi.
What is the Kipepeo Project in Kenya?
The Kipepeo Project is a community butterfly-farming scheme started in 1993 on the edge of Arabuko-Sokoke Forest near Malindi. Local farmers rear the pupae of native butterflies and sell them for export to live-butterfly exhibits. The income gives villages a reason to protect the forest instead of clearing it. Kipepeo means butterfly in Swahili.
Which butterflies migrate through Kenya?
The Brown-veined White (Belenois aurota) is Kenya's great migrant. After good rains, millions fly north-east across the savanna and through Nairobi for weeks at a time. The African Migrant and several Colotis orange tips make smaller movements, and the Painted Lady passes through the highlands. None of them makes a round trip like the Monarch.
Which Kenyan butterflies are endangered?
The Taita Blue-banded Swallowtail (Papilio desmondi teita) is critically endangered, surviving only in a few cloud-forest fragments in the Taita Hills. The African Giant Swallowtail persists in very small numbers in Kakamega, and several coastal forest species depend on Arabuko-Sokoke. Forest clearance for farming and charcoal is the main threat to all of them.
Published November 10, 2023 · Last updated September 21, 2026