Blood-red Cymothoe vs Walker's Nasute Termite

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Blood-red Cymothoe Walker's Nasute Termite
Scientific Name Cymothoe sangaris Nasutitermes walkeri
Order Lepidoptera Blattodea
Family Nymphalidae Termitidae
Size 55-70 mm wingspan Workers 4-5 mm, soldiers 5-6 mm
Habitat Forests Forests
Diet Blood Feeders Wood Feeders
Regions Central Africa (Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, DRC) Eastern Australia
Conservation Least Concern Not Evaluated

Blood-red Cymothoe

A strikingly sexually dimorphic butterfly where males are vivid blood-red and females are brown with white bands. It is one of the most recognizable butterflies in Central African forests. Flight is relatively slow and gliding.

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Did You Know?

The blood-red coloration of males is so vivid that early European explorers initially mistook them for a different species from the brown females.

Walker's Nasute Termite

An arboreal termite that builds round carton nests on tree trunks in eastern Australia. Its nests are made from chewed wood cemented with fecal material.

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Did You Know?

Its arboreal nests provide shelter to many other invertebrate species including spiders and beetles.