Pseudacraea boisduvali

Last updated

Boisduval's false acraea
Pseudacraeaboisduvali.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Pseudacraea
Species:
P. boisduvali
Binomial name
Pseudacraea boisduvali
(Doubleday, 1845) [1]
Synonyms
  • Diadema boisduvaliiDoubleday, 1845
  • Pseudacraea trimeniiButler, 1874
  • Pseudacraea boisduvali f. beatriciaStoneham, 1965
  • Pseudacraea boisduvali f. westwoodiStoneham, 1965
  • Pseudacraea boisduvali f. marsabitensisCarpenter and Jackson, 1950
  • Pseudacraea colvilleiButler, 1884
  • Pseudacraea boisduvali var. deficiensKarsch, 1897

Pseudacraea boisduvali, or Boisduval's false acraea, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It has an extensive range which includes much of the tropics and subtropics of sub-Saharan Africa.

Contents

Description

Male and female of the southernmost race, P. b. trimenii, illustrated in Seitz (1910) SeitzFaunaAfricanaXIIITaf46, Pseudacraea boisduvali trimenii, m & w.jpg
Male and female of the southernmost race, P. b. trimenii, illustrated in Seitz (1910)

The wingspan is 65–70 mm for males and 75–88 mm for females. A large and most beautiful species. As in hostilia , the hindwing is yellow-red to red-yellow with black, red-spotted marginal band, but that of boisduvali has in the basal part large rounded black spots. Fore wing in the distal part more or less semitransparent with thick black longitudinal streaks between the veins, at least in cellules 2 and 3; the black spots in the basal half are large and rounded and are present both in the cell and in cellules 1a–2; it should be specially noted that one of these spots is placed on vein 2. The species is considerably larger than Acraea egina , but mimics it almost exactly and has also local races corresponding to those of egina.

Biology

Adults are on wing year round, with a peak from January to May. [2]

The larvae feed on the foliage of various members of the Sapotaceae, namely Chrysophyllum , Mimusops (including M. obovata and M. zeyheri ), Manilkara discolor and Englerophytum (including E. magalismontanum and E. natalense ).

Subspecies

Male P. b. trimenii basking on foliage in Lekgalameetse Provincial Park, South Africa Boisduval's False Acraea (Pseudacraea boisduvalii trimenii) (33077336021), crop.jpg
Male P. b. trimenii basking on foliage in Lekgalameetse Provincial Park, South Africa

Mimicry

Pseudacraea boisduvali is, with Acraea egina and Graphium ridleyanus , a member of a mimicry complex.

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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.
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