''Acraea orina'', the orina acraea, is a

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

in the family

Nymphalidae The Nymphalidae are the largest family of butterflies, with more than 6,000 species distributed throughout most of the world. Belonging to the superfamily Papilionoidea, they are usually medium-sized to large butterflies. Most species ha ...

. It is found in

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

, western

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

and

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...

(Mbini and Bioko).

Description

''A. orina''. This species differs from the nearly allied ''

parrhasia In rhetoric, parrhesia () is candid speech, speaking freely. It implies not only freedom of speech, but the obligation to speak the truth for the common good, even at personal risk. Etymology The earliest recorded use of the term ''parrhesia'' i ...

'' in having the forewing fully scaled, with sharply defined red markings. Fore wing black above with a long red stripe in the cell and in 1 b and red discal spots in 2-6 or at least in 2. Hindwing black above with broad red median band, which only covers the extreme apex of the cell, or in the female red to the base with black dots. Under surface of the fore wing to beyond the middle reddish, then yellowish, with black veins and thick black streaks; hindwing with yellow ground colour, large black dots in the basal area and thick black streaks on the interneural folds. - ''orina'' Hew. (= ''orinata'' Oberth. 57 a). Forewing with red (male, female) or white (female) discal spots in cellules 3–6. Sierra Leone to the Congo. - f. ''nigroapicalis'' Auriv. Forewing without light spots in cellules 3–6. Cameroons to Uganda (57 a); ''orina'' is a transitional form with red spot only in 3. - ''orineta'' Eltr. ''Acraea orinata'' ">Acraea_orinata.html" ;"title="''Acraea orinata">''Acraea orinata'' is the eastern race and is characterized by having the red markings of the forewing more extended and the basal area on the hindwing above black in the female also; the light spots in cellules 4-6 of the forewing in the female are sometimes whitish, sometimes red as in the male. Uganda, as aberration also in West Africa.

Biology

The habitat consists of forest clearings and edges. Adults males mud puddle and both sexes are attracted to flowers.

Taxonomy

It is a member of the ''

Mud-puddling">mud puddle and both sexes are attracted to flowers.

Taxonomy

It is a member of the '' species group In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

- but see also Pierre & Bernaud, 2014 Pierre & Bernau, 2014 Classification et Liste Synonymique des Taxons du Genre ''Acraea'
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References

External links

''Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde'' 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 57
''a''
Images representing ''Acraea orina''
at Consortium for the Barcode of Life">Bold.
''Acraea orina''
at Pteron

(Swedish Museum of Natural History) Butterflies described in 1874 Acraea (butterfly), orestia Butterflies of Africa Taxa named by William Chapman Hewitson {{Heliconiinae-stub