Acraea neobule
Encyclopedia
The Wandering Donkey Acraea (Acraea neobule) is a butterfly
of the Nymphalidae
family. It is found in sub-Sahara
n Africa
and south-western Arabia.
The wingspan
is 48–55 mm for males and 50–56 mm for females. Adults are on wing year round, but are more common from September to April.
The larvae feed on Passiflora edulis
, Passiflora incarnata
, Adenia gummifera and Hybanthus
species.
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 sub-Sahara
Sahara
The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...
n 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...
and south-western Arabia.
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 48–55 mm for males and 50–56 mm for females. Adults are on wing year round, but are more common from September to April.
The larvae feed on Passiflora edulis
Passiflora edulis
Passiflora edulis is a vine species of passion flower that is native to Paraguay, Brazil and northern Argentina . Its common names include passion fruit and passionfruit...
, Passiflora incarnata
Passiflora incarnata
Passiflora incarnata, commonly known as maypop, purple passionflower, true passionflower, wild apricot, and wild passion vine, is a fast growing perennial vine with climbing or trailing stems. A member of the passionflower genus Passiflora, the maypop has large, intricate flowers with prominent...
, Adenia gummifera and Hybanthus
Hybanthus
Hybanthus is a genus of the family Violaceae. This genus name is Greek for "humpback flower", referring to the drooping pedicels of plants that are part of this genus. The genus is grossly polyphyletic and may contain up to seven different genera, of which Pombalia Vand., Cubelium Raf. and Pigea DC...
species.
Subspecies
- Acraea neobule neobule (Ethiopia to South Africa and from Cameroon to Kenya)
- Acraea neobule seis Feisthamel (Senegal to western Nigeria, Niger)
- Acraea neobule arabica Rebel (south-western Arabia)
- Acraea neobule legrandi Carcasson, 1964 (Aldabra Island, Cosmoledo Island)