Acraea eponina

Last updated

Small orange acraea
Hyalites eponina manjaca, bovlerk, Uitvlucht-pad, Limpopo, a.jpg
Hyalites eponina manjaca, ondervlerk, Uitvlucht-pad, Limpopo, b.jpg
A. e. manjaca in South Africa
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Acraea
Species:
A. eponina
Binomial name
Acraea eponina
(Cramer, 1780)
Synonyms
  • Acraea manjacaBoisduval, 1833
  • Hyalites eponina(Cramer, 1780)
  • Papilio eponinaCramer, 1780
  • Telchinia perruptaButler, 1883

Acraea eponina, the orange acraea or small orange acraea to distinguish it from the larger A. anacreon , is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in tropical Africa and south-western Arabia.

Contents

The wingspan is 35–40 mm for males and 36–44 mm for females. Adults are on wing year round, but are more common in warmer months. [1]

Natural enemies include the parasitoids Carcelia normula and Charops species and the predaceous bugs Afrius figuratus , Rhynocoris bicolor and other Rhynocoris species.

The larvae of subspecies eponina feed on Hibiscus , Sida , Nicotiana , Hermannia , and Triumfetta species. Subspecies manjaca has been reported on Triumfetta rhomboidea , Triumfetta annua , Triumfetta effusa , Triumfetta pilosa and Hermannia species.

Subspecies

Taxonomy

Acraea eponina is a member of the Acraea bonasia species group; see Acraea . Formerly, A. eponina was often misidentified as Acraea serena or Acraea terpsicore .


Related Research Articles

<i>Acraea terpsicore</i> Species of butterfly

Acraea terpsicore, the tawny coster, is a small, 53–64 millimetres (2.1–2.5 in), leathery-winged butterfly common in grassland and scrub habitats. It belongs to the Nymphalidae or brush-footed butterfly family. It has a weak fluttery flight. It is avoided by most insect predators. This species and the yellow coster are the only two Indian representatives of the predominantly African tribe Acraeini. It is found in India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Maldives to Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Singapore, and recently Australia.

<i>Aloeides dentatis</i> Species of butterfly

Aloeides dentatis, the Roodepoort copper, is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Lesotho and South Africa.

<i>Acraea</i> (butterfly) Genus of brush-footed butterflies

Acraea is a genus of brush-footed butterflies of the subfamily Heliconiinae. It seems to be highly paraphyletic and has long been used as a "wastebin taxon" to unite about 220 species of anatomically conservative Acraeini. Some phylogenetic studies show that the genus Acraea is monophyletic if Bematistes and Neotropical Actinote are included. Most species assembled here are restricted to the Afrotropical realm, but some are found in India, Southeast Asia, and Australia.

<i>Colotis evagore</i> Species of butterfly

Colotis evagore, the desert orange tip, small orange tip, or tiny orange tip, is a butterfly of the family Pieridae. It is found in the dry parts of tropical Africa, northern Africa, southern Spain and southwest Arabia.

<i>Acraea acrita</i> Species of butterfly

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

Orange acraea is a name applied to three butterflies of tropical Africa and adjacent Arabia:

<i>Spialia diomus</i> Species of butterfly

Spialia diomus, the common sandman or Diomus grizzled skipper, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found in tropical Africa and south-western Arabia.

<i>Spialia spio</i> Species of butterfly

Spialia spio, the mountain sandman or Spio grizzled skipper, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found in tropical Africa and south-western Arabia. It is found in eastern South Africa.

<i>Acraea neobule</i> Species of butterfly

Acraea neobule, the wandering donkey acraea, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Sub-Saharan Africa and south-western Arabia.

<i>Acraea caldarena</i> Species of butterfly

Acraea caldarena, the black tip acraea or black-tipped acraea, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in southern and southeastern Africa.

<i>Acraea igola</i> Species of butterfly

Acraea igola, the dusky-veined acraea, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found from the Eastern Cape along the coast to KwaZulu-Natal, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, north-eastern Tanzania.

<i>Acraea anacreon</i> Species of butterfly

Acraea anacreon, the (large) orange acraea, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Kwazulu-Natal and Transvaal and from Angola to Zimbabwe and to Kenya. Elsewhere in Africa and adjacent regions, "orange acraea" refers to the smaller A. eponina.

Acraea alalonga, the long-winged orange acraea, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in montane grassland from the Drakensberg and midlands in KwaZulu-Natal, north into Mpumalanga and the Wolkberg in Limpopo.

<i>Acraea encedon</i> Species of butterfly

Acraea encedon, the common acraea, white-barred acraea or encedon acraea, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in sub-Saharan Africa and south-western Arabia. It is one of the species of Acraea sometimes separated in Telchinia.

<i>Acraea cabira</i> Species of butterfly

Acraea cabira, the yellow-banded acraea, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae that is native to Africa.

<i>Acraea serena</i> Species of butterfly

Acraea serena, the dancing acraea, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found throughout Africa south of the Sahara. It is the most common of the Acraea, from Dakar to Fort-Dauphin and from Yemen to the Cape.

<i>Acraea endoscota</i> Species of butterfly

Acraea endoscota, the Le Doux's glassy acraea, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, northern Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, south-western Ethiopia, western Kenya and western Tanzania.

<i>Acraea bonasia</i> Species of butterfly

Acraea bonasia, the bonasia acraea, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae which is native to the African tropics and subtropics.

<i>Acraea goetzei</i> Species of butterfly

Acraea goetzei is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in southern Malawi, eastern Zambia, southern and western Tanzania, south-western Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zimbabwe.

<i>Acraea rangatana</i> Species of butterfly

Acraea rangatana is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia.

References

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