Acraea pentapolis explained

Acraea pentapolis, also known as the scarce tree-top acraea or eastern musanga acraea, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in western and central Africa.^[1]

Habitat and food

The habitat consists of forests, and the larvae feed on Myrianthus holstii (Urticaceae).

Description

In 1912, Harry Eltringham wrote:^[2]

Description in Seitz

A. pentapolis has the hindwing hyaline or transparent at the costal margin, in cellules 5 to 7 as far as the cell and in lc to 4 at the distal margin; thus only the cell, cellules 1a to 2 nearly to the distal margin and the base of cellule 3 (and 4) are scaled; the marginal streaks are often only distinct in cellules 1c to 3. Larva dark umber-brown above with a white spot at each side on segments 4 to 12; head red-brown. Spines black, the one on segment 2 elongated. Pupa whitish with black markings; abdomen dorsally with short, obtuse elevations.

• pentapolis Ward (56 e). Transverse band of the fore wing dull and little distinct; scaling of the hind wing very thin, pale yellow to whitish. Sierra Leone to the Congo and Uganda, aberratio form thelestis Oberth. (56 f). Scaling of the hindwing red-yellow. Among the type-form.
• epidica Oberth. (56 f). Transverse band of the forewing deep black and sharply defined, often much widened; scaling of the hindwing lemon-yellow; distal margin of both wings often broadly darkened. German East Africa.^[3]

Subspecies

• Acraea pentapolis pentapolis — Cameroon, Gabon, Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, western Kenya
• Acraea pentapolis epidica Oberthür, 1893 — Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, eastern Zimbabwe

Taxonomy

It is a member of the Acraea pentapolis species group.- but see also Pierre & Bernaud, 2014 ^[4]

External links

• Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 56 e, f as thelestis and epidica
• Images representing Acraea pentapolis at Bold
• Images representing Acraea pentapolis epidica at Bold
• Acraea pentapolis Le Site des Acraea de Dominique Bernaud

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. Eltringham, H. (1912) A monograph of the African species of the genus Acraea Fab., with a supplement on those of the Oriental Region. Transactions of the Entomological Society of London 1912:1-374.
3. 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.
4. Pierre & Bernau, 2014 Classification et Liste Synonymique des Taxons du Genre Acraea pdf