Acraea cerasa

Acraea cerasa, the tree top acraea, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in most of south-eastern Africa.

Acraea cerasa
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Acraea
Species:
A. cerasa
Binomial name
Acraea cerasa
Synonyms
  • Hyalites cerasa (Hewitson, 1861)
  • Acraea cerasa kigezia Howarth, 1959
  • Acraea unimaculata Grose-Smith, 1898

The wingspan is 32–38 mm for males and 37–45 mm for females. Adults are on wing year round, with a peak from October to April. It is very scarce in dry months.[2]

The larvae feed on Rawsonia lucida and Drypetes gerrardii.

Subspecies

  • Acraea cerasa cerasa (KwaZulu-Natal to Kenya east of Rift Valley)
  • Acraea cerasa cerita Sharpe, 1906 Uganda and possibly north-western Tanzania and eastern Zaire)
  • Acraea cerasa kiellandi Carcasson, 1964 (the highlands west of Lake Tanganyika)
  • Acraea cerasa unimaculata Grose-Smith, 1898 (the highlands west of the Rift Valley in Kenya)
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References

  1. Acraea at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
  2. Woodhall, S. Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa, Cape Town: Struik Publishers, 2005.


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