Acraea actinotina explained

Acraea actinotina, the puzzling acraea, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in central and eastern Nigeria.[1] The describer, Percy Ireland Lathy, mistakenly placed this species in Telipna Lycaenidae - the wrong family. Hence the English name puzzling acraea.

Description

Forewing on both surfaces in the basal part orange-yellow as far as the costal margin and vein 4, in the apical part above black with two elongate yellow subapical spots in 5 and 6, beneath black-grey with indistinct light subapical spots in 3-6 and broad black bordering to the yellow basal part. Hindwing brown-grey beneath with some small black basal dots.[2]

Taxonomy

It is a member of the Acraea jodutta species group- but see also Pierre & Bernaud, 2014 [3]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Afrotropical Butterflies: Nymphalidae - Tribe Acraeini . 2012-06-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120810134550/http://atbutterflies.com/downloads/nymphalidae_acraeini.doc . 2012-08-10 . dead .
  2. Aurivillius, [P.O.]C. 1908-1924. In: Seitz, A. Die Grosschmetterlinge 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.
  3. Pierre & Bernau, 2014 Classification et Liste Synonymique des Taxons du Genre Acraea pdf