Kingdom Animalia Class Insecta Family Nymphalidae Scientific name Acraea uvui | Phylum Arthropoda Order Lepidoptera Genus Acraea Rank Species | |
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Similar Acraea oreas, Acraea bonasia, Acraea toruna, Acraea lycoa | ||
Acraea uvui, the tiny acraea or tiny mountain acraea, is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family. It is found in Cameroon, Angola, northern Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and eastern Zaire. The habitat consists of sub-montane forests at altitudes ranging from 1,200 to 1,400 meters.
Contents
Adult males mud-puddle and are also attracted to urine and animal excrement.
The larvae feed on Triumfetta species (including T. rhomboidea and T. macrophylla) and Sparmannia ricinocarpa.
Subspecies
Description
Wingspan 30–34 mm. Forewing black. A subapical patch of tawny red narrow in 10, 9, and 6, and widened to about double the width in 5 and 4. A central inner marginal patch of the same colour occupying the central part of la and lb, rather more than the basal half of 2, extending slightly into 3 at its base, and into lower part of distal end of cell. Hindwing with a black triangular basal patch, central area tawny red often inclining to yellow at inner margin, somewhat indenting the basal patch at upperside of cell. Hind margin with a black border about 2 mm wide, its inner edge deeply indented by the red colour in 4 and 5, above this point somewhat convex, and below running horizontally across to inner margin. Underside very like that of bonasia alicia Forewing. Basal half pale reddish yellow with dusky indications of the basal black of upperside. The subapical patch ochre yellow, its proximal edge straight or even concave. Remainder of wing brownish black. Hindwing ochre yellow with a greenish tinge at base. Some irregular black at base of wing and a small basal spot in cell. At about the level of middle of cell a transverse band of irregular confluent black spots usually divisible into five rather large subquadrate marks in 7, cell, 1c, lb, and la. Hind marginal border as on upperside though occasionally slightly narrower. A marginal series of small white subtriangular spots.
Head and thorax black with two brownish tufts on collar. Abdomen black with very minute pale lateral spots and segmental lines. Claws unequal.
Taxonomy
Acraea uvui is a member of the Acraea bonasia species group; see Acraea.