Acraea uvui

Acraea uvui, the tiny acraea or tiny mountain acraea, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Cameroon, Angola, northern Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and eastern Zaire. The habitat consists of sub-montane forests at altitudes ranging from 1,200 to 1,400 meters.[1]

Acraea uvui
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Acraea
Species:
A. uvui
Binomial name
Acraea uvui
Synonyms
  • Acraea (Actinote) uvui
  • Acraea minima Holland, 1892
  • Acraea uvui ab. interruptella Strand, 1909
  • Acraea uvui f. subsuffusa Stoneham, 1936
  • Acraea balina Karsch, 1892

Adult males mud-puddle and are also attracted to urine and animal excrement.

The larvae feed on Triumfetta species (including T. rhomboidea and T. macrophylla) and Sparmannia ricinocarpa.

Subspecies
  • Acraea uvui uvui (Democratic Republic of the Congo: east to Ituri and Kivu, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, northern Tanzania)
  • Acraea uvui balina Karsch, 1892 (Nigeria, Cameroon, highlands of Angola)

Description

Wingspan 30–34 mm. Forewing black. A subapical patch of tawny red narrow in 10, 9, and 6, and widened to about double the width in 5 and 4. A central inner marginal patch of the same colour occupying the central part of la and lb, rather more than the basal half of 2, extending slightly into 3 at its base, and into lower part of distal end of cell. Hindwing with a black triangular basal patch, central area tawny red often inclining to yellow at inner margin, somewhat indenting the basal patch at upperside of cell. Hind margin with a black border about 2 mm wide, its inner edge deeply indented by the red colour in 4 and 5, above this point somewhat convex, and below running horizontally across to inner margin. Underside very like that of bonasia alicia Forewing. Basal half pale reddish yellow with dusky indications of the basal black of upperside. The subapical patch ochre yellow, its proximal edge straight or even concave. Remainder of wing brownish black. Hindwing ochre yellow with a greenish tinge at base. Some irregular black at base of wing and a small basal spot in cell. At about the level of middle of cell a transverse band of irregular confluent black spots usually divisible into five rather large subquadrate marks in 7, cell, 1c, lb, and la. Hind marginal border as on upperside though occasionally slightly narrower. A marginal series of small white subtriangular spots.

Head and thorax black with two brownish tufts on collar. Abdomen black with very minute pale lateral spots and segmental lines. Claws unequal.[2]

Taxonomy

Acraea uvui is a member of the Acraea bonasia species group; see Acraea.

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References
  1. "Afrotropical Butterflies: Nymphalidae - Tribe Acraeini". Archived from the original on 2012-08-10. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  2. Eltringham, H. (1912) A monograph of the African species of the genus Acraea Fab., with a supplement on those of the Oriental Region. Transactions of the Entomological Society of London 1912:1-374.
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