Speckled red acraea | |
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Dorsal aspect of imago, and ventral aspect of wings | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Family: | Nymphalidae |
Genus: | Acraea |
Species: | A. violarum |
Binomial name | |
Acraea violarum | |
Synonyms | |
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Acraea violarum, the speckled red acraea, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae which is native to southern Africa.
It is found in KwaZulu-Natal, Transvaal, Zimbabwe and southern Mozambique. It is a variable species with a number of described morphs including form violarum, form assimilis and form gracilis.
The wingspan is 40–48 mm for males and 43–55 mm for females. A. violarum Bdv. (55 a). Wings above with dull brick-red to grey-red to grey (female) ground-colour and large black dots; forewing with fine black marginal line, which is widened at the apex into a spot 2 mm. in breadth, and with 6 submarginal dots (in 1b to 6); both wings above more or less darkened at the base; marginal band of the hindwing with the proximal boundary lunulate; under surface almost as the upper, but the marginal band of the hindwing with large whitish spots and the forewing at the apex with small marginal spots of the same colour. South Africa to Angola and Mashonaland. [4]
Adults are on wing year round, with a peak from July to November. [5]
The larvae feed on Basananthe sandersonii . Adults have been found feeding on flower nectar of Scabious species.
It is a member of the Acraea cepheus species group – but see also Pierre & Bernaud, 2014. [6]
Acraea acrita, the fiery acraea, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in large parts of Africa.
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Acraea rabbaiae, the clear wing acraea, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in KwaZulu-Natal, Eswatini, from Mozambique to Kenya and in Tanzania.
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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.
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Acraea anemosa, the broad-bordered acraea, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae which is native to southern Africa and coastal East Africa.
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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.
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Acraea cerasa, the tree top acraea, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in most of south-eastern Africa.
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Acraea zetes, the large spotted acraea, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae which is native to sub-Saharan Africa.
Acraea periphanes is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae which is native to the southern subtropics of Africa.
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.
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