Acraea cinerea explained

Acraea cinerea, the grey acraea, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae which is native to East Africa.

Range

It is found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia.^[1]

Description

A. cinerea Neave. Fore wing diaphanous without a trace of definite spots, at the costal margin and at the apex more or less dusted with grey. Hindwing above uniform black, beneath at the base with a large dark red area, which extends to the apex of the cell and the inner margin; basal dots feebly developed; fore wing beneath dark red at the base of the costal margin. British East Africa: Tiriki Hills (5000 ft.).

• alberta Eltr. (60 e) differs in the hindwing having above a large, elongate carmine-red spot, which covers the base of cellules 7-2, the middle of cellule 1c and the apex of the cell. To the west of Lake Albert & Edward.^[2]

Subspecies

• Acraea cinerea cinerea — Democratic Republic of the Congo: east to northern Kivu, Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, western Tanzania, Zambia
• Acraea cinerea luluae Berger, 1981 — Democratic Republic of the Congo: south to Lualaba

Taxonomy

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

External links

• Images representing Acraea cinerea luluae at Bold

Notes and References

1. Web site: Afrotropical Butterflies: Nymphalidae - Tribe Acraeini . 2012-06-05 . 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 Großschmetterlinge 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