Acraea acrita

Acraea acrita, the fiery acraea, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in large parts of Africa.

Acraea acrita
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Acraea
Species:	A. acrita
Binomial name
Acraea acrita Hewitson, 1865
Synonyms
Acraea (Acraea) acrita Acraea acrita ab. pauperata Thurau, 1903 Acraea acrita ab. aquilia Thurau, 1903 Acraea acrita f. chaeribulula Strand, 1911 Acraea acrita ab. aquilina Strand, 1911 Acraea acrita f. msamwiae Strand, 1911 Acraea acrita f. lindica Strand, 1911 Acraea acrita ab. usaramensis Strand, 1911 Acraea acrita f. nyassicola Strand, 1911 Acraea acrita littoralis Eltringham, 1912 Acraea acrita f. megaspila Le Cerf, 1927 Acraea acrita acrita f. albomaculosa Le Doux, 1931 Acraea acrita acrita f. fusca Le Doux, 1932 Acraea acrita acrita f. nigromarginata Le Doux, 1932 Acraea ambigua Trimen, 1891 Acraea acrita var. bella Weymer, 1901

The wingspan is 45–55 mm. Adults are on wing year round, with a peak from February to June in southern Africa.[1]

The larvae feed on Passifloraceae, including Adenia species.

Subspecies

• Acraea acrita acrita (Uganda, southern Kenya, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, South Africa)
• Acraea acrita ambigua Trimen, 1891 (Zambia, southern Angola, Botswana, northern Namibia)

Taxonomy

Acraea acrita is the nominate member of the Acraea acrita species group. The clade members are:

• Acraea acrita
• Acraea chaeribula
• Acraea eltringhamiana
• Acraea guluensis
• Acraea lualabae
• Acraea manca
• Acraea pudorina
• Acraea utengulensis

References

1. Woodhall, Steve (2005). Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN 978-1-86872-724-7.

External links

• Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 55 b
• Images at Bold