Acraea acrita
Encyclopedia
The Fiery Acraea is a butterfly
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...

 of the Nymphalidae
Nymphalidae
The Nymphalidae is a family of about 5,000 species of butterflies which are distributed throughout most of the world. These are usually medium sized to large butterflies. Most species have a reduced pair of forelegs and many hold their colourful wings flat when resting. They are also called...

 family. It is found in large parts of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

.

The wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...

 is 45–55 mm. Adults are on wing year round, with a peak from February to June in southern Africa.

The larvae feed on Passifloraceae
Passifloraceae
Passifloraceae is a family of flowering plants, containing about 530 species classified in around 18 genera. They include trees, shrubs, lianas and climbing plants, and are mostly found in tropical regions....

, including Adenia
Adenia
Adenia is a genus in the passionflower family Passifloraceae. It is named after Aden, a city in Yemen.The genus includes a number of tropical and subtropical xerophytes; many of which form substantially thickened bases or lianas. It is also a Caudiciform. Many species are characterised by the...

species.

Subspecies

  • Acraea acrita acrita (Zimbabwe to Mozambique, Malawi, eastern Zambia, northern Zambia, southern Zaire (eastern Shaba), Tanzania)
  • Acraea acrita ambigua (south-western Zambia, northern Angola)
  • Acraea acrita eltringhamiana
  • Acraea acrita guluensis
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