Large spotted acraea | |
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Mating pair of the nominate subspecies — both images from The Gambia | |
Scientific classification
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Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Family: | Nymphalidae |
Genus: | Acraea |
Species: | A. zetes
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Binomial name | |
Acraea zetes | |
Synonyms | |
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Acraea zetes, the large spotted acraea, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae which is native to sub-Saharan Africa.
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. [3]
A. zetes is a common species in Africa, distributed from Sierra Leone to Natal and Abyssinia; it develops several races and forms and is darkest in the north-west, gradually becoming lighter and lighter towards the south and east. Forewing with 2 black spots in the cell, one at its apex, large elongate discal dots in 3 to 6 and 10, rounded free discal dots in 1b and 2 and at least beneath with large yellow marginal spots in 1b to 6. Hindwing in addition to the confluent basal dots with a median dot and distinct discal dots, of which the one in 2 is placed close to the base of the cellule and that in 4 further distad than the rest; the black marginal band broad on both surfaces or at least beneath with light spots.
The habitat consists of open deciduous forests and woodland savanna.
The larvae feed on Theobroma cacao, Basananthe zanzibaricum, Adenia cisampelloides, Adenia lobata, Barteria acuminata, Phyllobotryum spathulatum, Smeathmannia, Passiflora, Deidama, Tacsonia and Hydnocarpus species
It is a member of the Acraea zetes species group- but see also Pierre & Bernaud, 2014 [5]
Large spotted acraea | |
---|---|
![]() | |
![]() | |
Mating pair of the nominate subspecies — both images from The Gambia | |
Scientific classification
![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Family: | Nymphalidae |
Genus: | Acraea |
Species: | A. zetes
|
Binomial name | |
Acraea zetes | |
Synonyms | |
|
Acraea zetes, the large spotted acraea, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae which is native to sub-Saharan Africa.
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. [3]
A. zetes is a common species in Africa, distributed from Sierra Leone to Natal and Abyssinia; it develops several races and forms and is darkest in the north-west, gradually becoming lighter and lighter towards the south and east. Forewing with 2 black spots in the cell, one at its apex, large elongate discal dots in 3 to 6 and 10, rounded free discal dots in 1b and 2 and at least beneath with large yellow marginal spots in 1b to 6. Hindwing in addition to the confluent basal dots with a median dot and distinct discal dots, of which the one in 2 is placed close to the base of the cellule and that in 4 further distad than the rest; the black marginal band broad on both surfaces or at least beneath with light spots.
The habitat consists of open deciduous forests and woodland savanna.
The larvae feed on Theobroma cacao, Basananthe zanzibaricum, Adenia cisampelloides, Adenia lobata, Barteria acuminata, Phyllobotryum spathulatum, Smeathmannia, Passiflora, Deidama, Tacsonia and Hydnocarpus species
It is a member of the Acraea zetes species group- but see also Pierre & Bernaud, 2014 [5]