Acraea anemosa

Acraea anemosa, the broad-bordered acraea, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. 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.

Broad-bordered acraea
male, f. welwitschii
f. alboradiata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Acraea
Species:
A. anemosa
Binomial name
Acraea anemosa
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

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:

References
  1. "Acraea Fabricius, 1807" at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
  2. Woodhall, Steve (2005). Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN 978-1-86872-724-7.


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