The articles published since the author’s Publications on Afrotropical Lepidoptera during 2019, which deal with scientific research into Afrotropical Papilionoidea, are listed alphabetically by author. Articles dealing with control of Lepidoptera as pests are excluded.

Aerial photography provides historic record of features at the time the photograph was captured, and can assist with exploring changes in the habitat of threatened species. The host-plant of the Critically Endangered, endemic Pennington’s Protea butterfly Capys penningtoni, the Common Sugarbush Protea caffra Meisn. subsp. caffra, is a resprouter after fire which eventually dies if burnt too frequently. Six sites (Marwaqa Nature Reserve, Impendle Nature Reserve, Clairmont Mountain Nature Reserve, Lotheni Nature Reserve, Lot 93 1821 near Mkhomazi River [Nxamalala Traditional Council] and Mt Le Sueur) where the butterfly species had been previously recorded were selected to estimate the number of adult P. caffra subsp. caffra trees present using aerial photographs (2009). Protea trees in the vicinity of the C. penningtoni butterfly collection sites were point-digitised off aerial photographs. Polygons were digitised around coverages of protea trees using a distance of 50 m between trees to determine the outer margin of each coverage. The imagery data were ground-truthed by verifying the location and identities of P. caffra subsp. caffra trees at each site, using a sample of the total number of digitised trees. The ground-truthing enabled the separation of P. caffra subsp. caffra trees from Silver Protea Protea roupelliae trees, and the separation of P. caffra subsp. caffra trees with overlapping canopies. Contemporary presence of P. caffra subsp. caffra trees in relation to presence in 2009 was determined. Fire frequency data for each site was obtained via landsatlook viewer (USGS). We found that the protea savanna at most of the sampled sites was burnt about once every year between July and September. This project indicated the potential utility of aerial photographs and aerial imagery for the purposes of assessing the status of P. caffra subsp. caffra and H. axyridis in the habitat of the Critically Endangered and endemic C. penningtoni and for directing the placement of sampling plots in the field.

The Red List status of Pennington’s protea butterfly Capys penningtoni has deteriorated from Vulnerable to Critically Endangered since 2009. This species is endemic to part of the midlands and Drakensberg foothills of the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Capys penningtoni is restricted to protea savanna where its hostplant, Protea caffra, occurs. A research programme was started when the Red List status of the species was Vulnerable, with the aims of preventing the extinction of C. penningtoni and improving its conservation status. An initial requirement was to more accurately determine the distribution and conservation status of C. penningtoni. A further requirement was to ascertain what might be the main threats facing the species in the wild. Surveillance of the species at some sites was carried out to try and ascertain whether the conservation status of the species was deteriorating further. Our knowledge of the distribution range of the species has improved with the identification of seven previously unknown sites where the species was present. A distribution model was developed for the species that predicted that C. penningtoni could be more widely distributed in the central midlands and Drakensberg foothills of KwaZulu-Natal. The model did not predict the occurrence of the species at three of the newly discovered sites. Further ground-truthing of the model is required. Surveillance results suggest that C. penningtoni may have become locally extinct or less abundant at sites where it was previously recorded, indicating that its conservation status has deteriorated. The main threats to C. penningtoni appears to be the presence of the alien invasive Harlequin ladybird beetle Harmonia axyridis and the inappropriate fire regimes and burning practices in the protea savanna habitat of the species.

The revision of the genus Neptis, Richardson (2019), showed that many new species are revealed by barcoding and one of these species, a close relative of Neptis rogersi Eltringham, 1921, is formally described here. The new species from Mt Mabu is Neptis collinsi sp. nov. and is easily distinguished from Neptis rogersi by both the facies and barcode.

The status of five species of Liptenini is revised: Liptena decempunctata Schultze, 1923 is transferred to the genus Tetrarhanis Karsch, 1893 (comb. nov.), and Tetrarhanis souanke (Stempffer, 1962) is synonymised with T. decempunctata (Schultze, 1923) (syn. nov.); Liptena mwagensis Dufrane, 1953 is transferred to the genus Micropentila Aurivillius, 1895 (comb. nov.); Liptena sauberi Schultze, 1912 is synonymised with L. modesta (Kirby, 1890) (syn. nov.), and Liptena yukadumae Schultze, 1917 is synonymised with L. tricolora (Bethune-Baker, 1915) (syn. nov.); the synonymy of Pentila occidentalis Bethune-Baker, 1926 with Kakumia ferruginea (Schultze, 1923) is confirmed.