Acraea cerasa
Encyclopedia
The Tree Top Acraea is a butterfly
of the Nymphalidae
family. It is found in most of south-eastern Africa
.
The wingspan
is 32-38 mm for males and 37-45 mm for females. Adults are on wing year round, with a peak from October to April. It is very scarce in dry months.
The larva
e feed on Rawsonia lucida and Drypetes gerrardii.
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
of the Nymphalidae
Nymphalidae
The Nymphalidae is a family of about 5,000 species of butterflies which are distributed throughout most of the world. These are usually medium sized to large butterflies. Most species have a reduced pair of forelegs and many hold their colourful wings flat when resting. They are also called...
family. It is found in most of south-eastern Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.
The wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
is 32-38 mm for males and 37-45 mm for females. Adults are on wing year round, with a peak from October to April. It is very scarce in dry months.
The larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e feed on Rawsonia lucida and Drypetes gerrardii.
Subspecies
- Acraea cerasa cerasa (KwaZulu-Natal to Kenya east of Rift Valley)
- Acraea cerasa cerita Sharpe, 1906 Uganda and possibly north-western Tanzania and eastern Zaire)
- Acraea cerasa kiellandi Carcasson, 1964 (the highlands west of Lake Tanganyika)
- Acraea cerasa unimaculata Grose-Smith, 1898 (the highlands west of the Rift Valley in Kenya)