Acraea aurivillii explained

Acraea aurivillii, the large alciope acraea, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Ethiopia.^[1] The habitat consists of forests.

The larvae feed on Laportea podocarpa, Urera flamigniana, Urera gravenreuthii, Urera thonneri, Pouzolzia denudata, Urera hypselodendron and Adenia species.

Subspecies

• Acraea aurivillii aurivillii (Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Central African Republic, southern and eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Uganda, western Kenya, north-western Tanzania, Zambia)
• Acraea aurivillii schecana Rothschild & Jordan, 1905 (south-western Ethiopia)

Similar species

• Acraea alciope q.v. for differences

Taxonomy

It is a member of the Acraea jodutta species group - but see also Pierre & Bernaud, 2014 ^[2]

Etymology

The name honours the Swedish entomologist Per Olof Christopher Aurivillius.

External links

• Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 57 e
• Images representing Acraea aurivillii at Bold

Notes and References

1. Web site: Afrotropical Butterflies: Nymphalidae - Tribe Acraeini . 2012-06-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120810134550/http://atbutterflies.com/downloads/nymphalidae_acraeini.doc . 2012-08-10 . dead .
2. Pierre & Bernau, 2014 Classification et Liste Synonymique des Taxons du Genre Acraea pdf