Acraea oncaea

Last updated

Window acraea
Window Acraea (Acraea oncaea) (16798382474).jpg
Acreae pair (5438496446).jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Acraea
Species:
A. oncaea
Binomial name
Acraea oncaea
Hopffer, 1855 [2] [3]
Synonyms
  • Acraea (Acraea) oncaea
  • Acraea doubledayiTrimen, 1887
  • Acraea oncaea caonciusSuffert, 1904
  • Acraea oncaea alboradiataSuffert, 1904
  • Acraea oncaea modestaSuffert, 1904
  • Acraea oncaea obscuraSuffert, 1904
  • Acraea oncaea defasciataSuffert, 1904
  • Acraea caecilia liaceaSuffert, 1904
  • Acraea oncaea f. distinctaLe Doux, 1923

Acraea oncaea, the window acraea, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in KwaZulu-Natal, Transvaal, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, from eastern Africa to Abyssinia and in Congo.

Contents

Description

Male and female in Seitz (1925) AcraeaSpecies2, Acraea oncaea.jpg
Male and female in Seitz (1925)

The wingspan is 40–48 mm (1.6–1.9 in) for males and 43–55 mm (1.7–2.2 in) for females. A. oncaea Hpff. (55 e) is distinguished at once by the fine black submarginal longitudinal streaks in cellules 3 to 5 (to 6) of the fore wing; the discal dot in 6 is usually wanting on the fore wing. male –  the forewing is thinly scaled, with dull orange-yellow ground-colour, at the base not darkened, and at the apex only black for a breadth of 2 mm.; discal dots usually small and punctiform, arranged exactly as in caecilia. Hindwing more densely scaled than the fore wing and above more reddish; its marginal band very narrow but more distinctly spotted. In the female the wings have the ground-colour above dark grey and the fore wing has a broad white subapical band from the costal margin to vein 3. South and East Africa to the southern Congo region and Abyssinia.-female ab. obscura Suff. Forewing above brown, hindwing above whitish with rose-red spots at the base, at the inner margin and behind the discal dots. -female ab. defasciata Suff. Forewing brown without white subapical band. - female ab. alboradiata Suff. has the veins of the hindwing white. -female ab. modesta Suff. Hindwing with a large white area in the middle. - caoncius Suff. is a seasonal form (?), in which the apex of the forewing above has only a fine black marginal line quite as on the under surface. German East Africa, ab. liacea Suff. only differs in having the marginal band of the hindwing not sharply defined above and composed of thick black lunules beneath. German East Africa. [4]

Biology

Adults are on the wing year round, with a peak from September to May. There are multiple generations per year. [5]

The larvae feed on Xylotheca kraussiana , Tricliceras longepedunculatum and Passifloraceae species, including Adenia species.

Taxonomy

It is a member of the Acraea caecilia species group.See also Pierre & Bernaud, 2014 [6]

Related Research Articles

<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.

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

Acraea cepheus, the Cepheus acraea, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Africa, from Nigeria and Angola to Uganda, western Tanzania and Zambia.

<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 natalica</i> Species of butterfly

Acraea natalica, the Natal acraea, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found from KwaZulu-Natal to Zimbabwe and in Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, southern DRC (Katanga), Tanzania and eastern Kenya.

<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 axina</i> Species of butterfly

Acraea axina, the little acraea, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in south-west Africa, in KwaZulu-Natal, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Transvaal, Botswana, and Malawi.

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

Acraea aglaonice, the clear-spotted acraea, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in KwaZulu-Natal, Mozambique, Transvaal, Zimbabwe and Botswana.

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

Acraea petraea, the blood acraea or blood-red acraea, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in coastal forests from KwaZulu-Natal to Mozambique, Kenya and Malawi.

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

Acraea esebria, the dusky acraea, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae from southern and eastern Africa.

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

Acraea serena, the dancing acraea, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in South Africa, including the area near the Waterberg Biosphere. But it is found also in the whole Africa south of the Sahara. It is the most common of the Acraea, from Dakar to Fort-Dauphin, from Yemen to the Cape.

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

Acraea chilo is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Somalia, Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

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

Acraea zetes, the large spotted Acraea, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, São Tomé and Príncipe, Angola, Namibia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Malawi and Zambia.

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

Acraea braesia is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Ethiopia, Somalia, north-eastern Uganda, eastern and northern Kenya and north-eastern Tanzania.

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

Acraea caecilia, the pink acraea, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Mali, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Malawi.

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

Acraea doubledayi is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia, Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

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

Acraea acerata, the falls acraea or small yellow-banded acraea, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Angola, Mozambique, north-western Zimbabwe, northern Botswana and northern Namibia.

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

Acraea jodutta, the jodutta acraea, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, São Tomé and Príncipe, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia.

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

Acraea pharsalus, the east African forest acraea or Pharsalus acraea, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, São Tomé and Príncipe, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Ethiopia, Angola, Zambia and Mozambique.

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

Acraea sotikensis, the Sotik acraea, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi and Zambia.

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

Acraea safie is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Ethiopia.

References

  1. Woodhall, S.E.; Westrip, J.R.S. (2020). "Acraea oncaea". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T161330017A161330021. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T161330017A161330021.en . Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. Hopffer, C.H. 1855 [Lepidoptera Diurna] Bericht über die zur Bekanntmachung geeigneten Verhandlungen der Königlich Preussische Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin
  3. "Acraea Fabricius, 1807" at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
  4. Aurivillius, [P.O.]C. 1908-1924. In: Seitz, A. Die Grosschmetterlinge der Erde Band 13: Abt. 2, Die exotischen Grosschmetterlinge, Die afrikanischen Tagfalter, 1925, 613 Seiten, 80 Tafeln (The Macrolepidoptera of the World 13).Alfred Kernen Verlag, Stuttgart.PD-icon.svgThis article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  5. Woodhall, Steve (2005). Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN   978-1-86872-724-7.
  6. Pierre & Bernau, 2014 Classification et Liste Synonymique des Taxons du Genre Acraea pdf