The montane butterflies of the eastern Afrotropics - Biogeography and Ecology of the Rain Forests of Eastern Africa - page 139

Kedestes (Hesperiidae). With 18 species all over
Africa, in woodland, open habitats and grassland.
In EAT there are eight species, but only one (bar-
berae) is restricted here to montane grassland; its
further disribuion is Zimbabwe to Cape
Province.

jump dispersal. Again sister-group
relationships with South African taxa, and
further a concentraion of taxa in the
southen areas.
3. Origin in EAT. The sister species are to
be found in EAT at lower levels and/or in
other habitats (possibly mainly woodland
since the change in habitat preference is
then relaively small). No special
geographic pattern of phylogeneic
relaionships to be expected. See also the
discussion below.

Colias (Pieridae). About 70 species, almost
enirely Holarcic. In the Old World two species
occur south of the Palaearcic. One, . erate, with
an otherwise Palaearctic distribution, reaches
southen India and Ethiopia (and Sudan); the
other, . eleto, is an Afroropical endemic that is
distributed in mountainous areas from southern
Arabia through Ethiopia, East and southeasten
Africa to Angola and South Africa, with an
isolated populaion in Cameroun. It is so similar
to the Palaearcic (mainly Mediterranean) . ro-
ceus that several authors have considered the two
conspecific. The reason for keeping them specifi-
cally separate is not clear. . croceus has been
found as ar south as Tibesi in the central Sahara
(Benardi, 1962). It is a well-known migrant in
Europe. Migratory behaviour of . electo has not
been reported.

Since human occupancy and aciviies in the
area are probably too recent for having created
opportuniies for speciaion (the efect may even
be the other way round since grasslands have
become more extensive and less isolated), the
presence of taxa endemic to small areas can be
taken as an indication of the age of the grassland
there predaing human interference.

Notes on the genera

In Appendix 8.1 we have listed all species and
subspecies that in the mountain ranges from
Ethiopia to east Zaire and Malawi are resricted to
montane grassland. Data have mainly been taken
from d'Abrera (1980), Berger (1981), Bernardi
(1980), Carcasson (1981), Carpenter (1935), Gif-
ford (1965), Kielland (1978), van Someren
(1957), and unpublished observations (especially
T.C.E.C.). In some cases authors do not agree
about how restricted a species is to a particular
habitat, but we think this Appendix gives a fair
idea of the species and subspecies restricted to
montane grassland. Some of the areas are under-
collected and a number of taxa are undoubtedly
more widely disributed than given in the table.
The following notes may be added.

Pieris (Pieridae). Opinions differ widely as to the
delimitaion of this genus. It may have as many as
30 or as few as 15 species. In current usage it is
always considered Holarcic with slight pen-
etrations to the south. P. brassicoies is the only
representaive in the Afrotropical region. It is
supposed to form a monophyleic group with P.
brassicae (Europe to Central Asia) and P. eota
(Pamir, Kashmir) (Benardi, 1947; Robbins &
Henson, 1986).

Capys (Lycaenidae). According to Carcasson
(1981) the genus has five species, two of which
are confined to higher elevations in South Africa.
Of the remaining species brunneus is listed from
highland grasslands of southen Tanzania and
Malawi, but it has not been found in Malawi since
1913 (Gifford, 1965), and Kielland (1978) lists
only a single male from woodland in Kigoma (W
Tanzania). Therefore brunneus is not listed in
Appendix 8.1. Carcasson divides the highland
grassland species disjunctus into three subspecies:

Metisella (Hesperiidae). This strictly Afrotropical
genus of about 26 species is at present under
revision (R. de Jong, unpublished data). M. casoni
belongs to a group of six species that are generally
found in open habitats and grasslands, from East
Africa to Nigeria and Angola.