Pseudacraea eurytus

Pseudacraea eurytus, the false wanderer, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Africa.

Pseudacraea eurytus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Pseudacraea
Species:	P. eurytus
Binomial name
Pseudacraea eurytus (Linnaeus, 1758) [1]
Synonyms
Papilio eurytus Linnaeus, 1758 Papilio hirce Drury, [1782] Pseudacraea imitator Trimen, 1873 Diadema ruhama Hewitson, 1872 Pseudacraea simulator Butler, 1873 Pseudacraea fulvaria Butler, 1874 Pseudacraea striata Butler, 1874 Pseudacraea metaplanema Butler, 1874 Pseudacraea epigea Butler, 1874 Pseudacraea theorini Aurivillius, 1891 Pseudacraea theorini var. consanguinea Aurivillius, 1894 Pseudacraea eurytus ab. bicolor Aurivillius, 1899 Pseudacraea karschi Fruhstorfer, 1903 Pseudacraea hobleyi Neave, 1904 Pseudacraea tirikensis Neave, 1904 Pseudacraea terra Neave, 1904 Pseudacraea obscura Neave, 1904 Pseudacraea togoensis Bartel, 1905 Pseudacraea impleta Grünberg, 1910 Pseudacraea ruwenzorica Grünberg, 1911 Pseudacraea fickei f. occidentalis Aurivillius, 1912 Pseudacraea eurytus hobleyi f. poggeoides Poulton, 1913 Pseudacraea theorini ab. epigeoides Strand, 1914 Pseudacraea theorini ab. obtusidentata Strand, 1914 Pseudacraea ruhama ab. latefasciata Schultze, 1920 Pseudacraea eurytus f. opisthoxantha Carpenter, 1924 Pseudacraea eurytus f. kuenowoides Carpenter, 1930 Pseudacraea eurytus f. schubotzoides Carpenter, 1935 Pseudacraea eurytus f. stavelioides Carpenter, 1949 Pseudacraea eurytus f. hemixantha Carpenter, 1949 Pseudacraea eurytus f. infumata Carpenter, 1949 Pseudacraea eurytus f. grisea Carpenter, 1949 Pseudacraea eurytus f. jacksoni Carpenter, 1949 Pseudacraea eurytus f. nigralba Hecq, 1991 Pseudacraea fulvaria f. fontainei Hecq, 1991 Pseudacraea striata f. knoopi Hecq, 1991 Pseudacraea simulator Grose-Smith, 1889 Pseudacraea fickei Weymer, 1907 Pseudacraea rogersi Trimen, 1909 Pseudacraea eurytus f. mlanjensis Carpenter, 1920 Pseudacraea eurytus f. victoris Eltringham, 1929 Pseudacraea eurytus f. rufobrunnea Carpenter and Jackson, 1950 Pseudacraea conradti Oberthür, 1893 Pseudacraea eurytus f. pondo Carpenter, 1949 Pseudacraea eurytus f. chionea van Son, 1979 Pseudacraea mimoras Ungemach, 1932 Pseudacraea mimoras f. lachesis Ungemach, 1932 Pseudacraea epaeoides Ungemach, 1932 Pseudacraea striata youbdonis Ungemach, 1932

The wingspan is 60–68 mm for males and 65–75 mm for females. Adults are on wing year round, but mainly from December to May. There is a strong peak in late summer.[2]

The larvae feed on Mimusops obovata, Englerophytum magalismontanum, E. natalense and Chrysophyllum viridifolium.

Subspecies

• Pseudacraea eurytus eurytus (southern Senegal (Casamance) to Cameroon, Angola, Zaire, southern Sudan, Uganda, west of the Rift Valley in western Kenya and western Tanzania)
• Pseudacraea eurytus imitator Trimen, 1873 (South Africa, southern Mozambique)
• Pseudacraea eurytus conradti Oberthür, 1893 (Kenya: east of the Rift Valley, eastern Tanzania, Malawi, northern Mozambique)
• Pseudacraea eurytus obscura Neave, 1904 (Uganda)
• Pseudacraea eurytus mimoras Ungemach, 1932 (south-western Ethiopia)

Genetic Underdominance

False wanderers display a rare example of stable genetic Underdominance. This species possesses two alleles which each confer an appearance similar to that of another local butterfly species that is toxic to its predator. Individuals who are heterozygous for this trait appear to be intermediate in appearance and thus experience increased predation and lowered overall fitness, since false wanderers heavily rely on Batesian mimicry for survival.[3]

References

1. "Pseudacraea Westwood, [1850]" at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
2. Woodhall, Steve (2005). Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN 978-1-86872-724-7.
3. Brauer, Fred; Kribs, Christopher (2015). Dynamical Systems for Biological Modeling: An Introduction. CRC Press. p. 399.

External links

• Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 56 f as conradti