Westwood’s Acraea

Scientific Name
Acraea pseudegina
WESTWOOD, 1852
Specie in
Family
Westwood’s Acraea
Acraea pseudegina, Boabeng Fiema, Ghana – Peter Bygate

Introduction

There are 228 Acraea species, of which 223 are Afrotropical in distribution. The majority are found in the forests and savannahs of East Africa, while about 60 are found in West Africa. Beyond Africa a further 5 species occur in the Oriental region, and another is found in Australia / New Guinea. In the neotropical region there are 50 additional species, but these are normally placed in the genera Actinote, Altinote and Abananote due to differences in venation and genitalia.

All Acraea species have elongate forewings and rounded hindwings. The wings are thinly scaled and in many species are semi-transparent. The scales wear off very easily so that insects more than 4 or 5 days old have a glassy or greasy appearance. The majority of species have a predominantly brownish or greyish ground colour, marked with bands or patches of red or orange. The basal area of the underside hindwings of most species is marked with a pattern of small black spots.

Acraea pseudegina is distributed from Senegal to Sudan, and south to Uganda and n.w. Tanzania.

Acraea pseudegina, Atewa Hills, Ghana
Acraea pseudegina, Atewa Hills, Ghana – Adrian Hoskins

Habitats

This species is found mainly in savannah habitats, but can also be found on farmland and in large open glades in rainforest.

Lifecycle

The larval foodplants include Adenia, Passiflora and Wormskioldia ( Passifloraceae ).

Adult behaviour

Both sexes nectar at a wide range of flowers, particularly favouring Tridax.

More on this topic

Butterfly of
Scientific Name
Acraea pseudegina
by
WESTWOOD, 1852
Family
SubFamily
ACRAEINAE
Tribe
ACRAEINI
SubTribe
N/A

Related Species