Kingdom Animalia Class Insecta Family Nymphalidae Rank Species | Phylum Arthropoda Order Lepidoptera Genus Acraea | |
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Similar Acraea zetes, Acraea quirina, Acraea jodutta, Acraea pseudegina, Acraea bonasia | ||
Acraea egina, the elegant acraea, is a species of butterfly in the Nymphalidae family.
Contents
Subspecies
Description
The wingspan of Acraea egina can reach 60–65 millimetres (2.4–2.6 in). Wings are basically brick red, with black spots on both forewings and hindwings and a quite large black margin on the hindwing upperside. These butterflies are closely mimicked by Pseudacraea boisduvali and by Graphium ridleyanus in the shade of color, in the cut of the wings and in the pattern of markings. The larvae of Acraea egina feed on Adenia lobata and Rawsonia species. They are whitish with black rings and black tubercules, while the pupae are pinkish brown.
Distribution
This species can be found in Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Habitat
The habitats of this species mainly consists of dry forests and savannah, but it also prefers clearings and open areas in the rainforest.