Acraea anemosa

Acraea anemosa
Acraea anemosa figure 2
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Tribe:	Acraeini
Genus:	Acraea
Species:	A. anemosa
Binomial name
Acraea anemosa Hewitson, 1865[1]
Synonyms
Acraea arcticincta Butler, 1883 Acraea anemosa mosana Suffert, 1904 Acraea anemosa dubiosa Suffert, 1904 Acraea welwitschii Rogenhofer, 1893 Acraea anemosa ab. alboradiata Aurivillius, 1899 Acraea anemosa ab. interrupta Thurau, 1904 Acraea anemosa ab. discoguttata Strand, 1909 Acraea anemosa ab. ufipana Strand, 1911 Acraea anemosa ab. urungensis Strand, 1911 Acraea welwitschii lobemba Eltringham, 1912 Acraea welwitschii lutea Riley, 1921 Acraea welwitschii nivea Riley, 1921 Acraea anemosa f. conjuncta Niepelt, 1937 Acraea anemosa macrosticta Storace, 1949

The Broad Bordered Acraea (Acraea anemosa) is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family. It is found in Zululand, Swaziland, Transvaal, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, southern Zaire (Shaba), Namibia, Angola, Tanzania, the coast of eastern Kenya and southern Somalia.

It is a variable species with a number of described colour morphs including f. anemosa, f. arctitincta, f. mosana, f. welwitschii, f. nivea, f. alboradiata and f. lobemba.

The wingspan is 50–55 mm for males and 57–64 mm for females. Adults are on wing year round in warmer areas with a peak from September to May in southern Africa. In cooler areas, adults can only be found from September to May.^[2]

The larvae feed on Adenia venenata.

Taxonomy

Acraea anemosa is a member of the Acraea acrita species group. The clade members are:

• Acraea anemosa
• Acraea pseudolycia
• Acraea turna

References

1. Acraea, Site of Markku Savela
2. Woodhall, S. Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa, Cape Town: Struik Publishers, 2005.

External links

• Image from Cape Town Museum
• Images at Bold
• Acraea anemosa at Pteron