Acraea horta

Acraea horta or the garden acraea is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Garden acraea
Male imago (above) and the swarthy caterpillars on a Kiggelaria leaf
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Acraea
Species:
A. horta
Binomial name
Acraea horta
(Linnaeus, 1764) [2]
Synonyms
  • Papilio horta Linnaeus, 1764
  • Acraea horta ab. conjuncta Blachier, 1912

Description
Acraea horta male, female and female's wing undersides in Seitz's Fauna Africana Taf. 53
For a key to the terms used, see Glossary of entomology terms.

A. horta L. (53 e, f) is one of the longest known and commonest Acraeids of the Cape, but it is also native to Pondoland, Natal, Zululand, Transvaal and Zimbabwe. It has a typical wingspan of 45–50 mm for males and 49–53 mm for females. The male is similar to that of neobule, but differs in having the black dots of the fore wing absent or only represented by a dot in the cell and another in 1b, the marginal spots of the hind wing small, elongate and incompletely separated from the ground-colour and the hindwing beneath red at the inner margin and the marginal band. In the female the forewing is almost entirely hyaline and the hindwing above light yellow to grey-yellow, beneath whitish with larger marginal spots, bounded by distinct lunules. The larva is brown-yellow with black transverse lines and yellow 7 lateral and dorsal lines, while the head and spines are black. The larva lives on Kiggelaria africana and various Passiflora species.

  • female ab. conjuncta Blachier is distinguished by having the discal dots of the hindwing changed into long, broad black stripes.[3]

Biology

Adults are on wing year-round, but are more common from October to April.[4]

The larvae feed on Kiggelaria africana and Passiflora (including Passiflora coerulea, Passiflora manicata and Passiflora mollisima) and Tacsonia species.

Taxonomy

It is a member of the Acraea terpsicore species group - but see also Pierre & Bernaud, 2014 [5]

  • The female imago
    The female imago
  • Eggs on underside of Kiggelaria africana leaf
    Eggs on underside of Kiggelaria africana leaf
  • Dorsal view of larva, showing barbed spines
    Dorsal view of larva, showing barbed spines
  • Pupating on glass, which renders visible the spun silken mat that it grips onto
    Pupating on glass, which renders visible the spun silken mat that it grips onto
  • Ventral view: pupating on glass, showing details of its crochets which grip the silk mat
    Ventral view: pupating on glass, showing details of its crochets which grip the silk mat
  • Pupa and larva
    Pupa and larva
  • Pupal attachment, by crochets on posterior prolegs, to silken mat spun onto a masonry wall
    Pupal attachment, by crochets on posterior prolegs, to silken mat spun onto a masonry wall

References
  1. Woodhall, S.E. (2020). "Acraea horta". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T161322853A161322965. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-1.RLTS.T161322853A161322965.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. Linnaeus, C. 1764. Museum Ludovicae Ulricae Reginae [viii], 1-720 + [2] pp. Holmiae.
  3. Aurivillius, [P.O.]C. 1908-1924. In: Seitz, A. Die Großschmetterlinge der Erde Band 13: Abt. 2, Die exotischen Großschmetterlinge, Die afrikanischen Tagfalter, 1925, 613 Seiten, 80 Tafeln (The Macrolepidoptera of the World 13). Alfred Kernen Verlag, Stuttgart.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. Woodhall, Steve (2005). Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN 978-1-86872-724-7.
  5. Pierre & Bernau, 2014 Classification et Liste Synonymique des Taxons du Genre Acraea pdf
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Acraea horta.
Wikispecies has information related to Acraea horta.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.