''Acraea horta'' or the garden 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 ...

of 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

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

Description

''A. horta'' L. (53 e, f) is one of the longest known and commonest Acraeids of the

Cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...

, but it is also native to

Pondoland Pondoland or Mpondoland (Mpondo: ''EmaMpondweni''), is a natural region on the South African shores of the Indian Ocean. It is located in the coastal belt of the Eastern Cape province. Its territory is the former Mpondo Kingdom of the Mpondo peopl ...

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

, Zululand,

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name ''Transvaal''. * South African Republic (1856–1902; ...

and

. It has a typical

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

of 45–50 mm for males and 49–53 mm for females. The male is similar to that of ''

neobule Neobule (, ''Neoboúlē'', "New Decision"Zanetto, Giuseppe. "Iambic Patterns in Aristophanic Comedy" i''Iambic Ideas: Essays on a Poetic Tradition from Archaic Greece to the Late Roman Empire'', Rowman & Littlefield (Lanham, Maryland, Lanham) ...

'', but differs in having the black dots of the fore wing absent or only represented by a dot in the cell and another in 1b, the marginal spots of the hind wing small, elongate and incompletely separated from the ground-colour and the hindwing beneath red at the inner margin and the marginal band. In the female the forewing is almost entirely hyaline and the hindwing above light yellow to grey-yellow, beneath whitish with larger marginal spots, bounded by distinct lunules. The larva is brown-yellow with black transverse lines and yellow 7 lateral and dorsal lines, while the head and spines are black. The larva lives on ''

Kiggelaria africana ''Kiggelaria africana'' (also known as the wild peach or umKokoko) is a large, robust, low-branching African tree, and is currently the only accepted species in the genus ''Kiggelaria''. Despite its common name, ''Kiggelaria africana'' is not re ...

'' and various ''

Passiflora ''Passiflora'', known also as the passion flowers or passion vines, is a genus of about 550 species of flowering plants, the type genus of the family Passifloraceae. ''Passiflora'' species are widely cultivated for their striking flowers, fla ...

'' species. * female ab. ''conjuncta'' Blachier is distinguished by having the discal dots of the hindwing changed into long, broad black stripes.

Biology

Adults are on wing year-round, but are more common from October to April. The larvae feed on ''

'' and ''

'' (including '' Passiflora coerulea'', '' Passiflora manicata'' and '' Passiflora mollisima'') and '' Tacsonia'' species.

Taxonomy

It is a member of the ''

Acraea terpsicore ''Acraea terpsicore'', the tawny coster, is a small, , leathery-winged butterfly common in grassland and scrub habitats. It belongs to the Nymphalidae or brush-footed butterfly family. It has a weak fluttery flight. It is avoided by most insect p ...

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'
pdf
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Gallery

Garden Acraea (Acraea horta) (32172511623).jpg, The female imago Eggs of Acraea horta on Kiggelaria africana EOS 01404s.JPG, Eggs on underside of ''

'' leaf Acraea horta 30019328.jpg, Dorsal view of larva, showing barbed spines Garden Acraea, Acraea horta seen from beneath pupating on glass 5249.jpg, Pupating on glass, which renders visible the spun silken mat that it grips onto Garden Acraea, Acraea horta seen from beneath pupating on glass 5257.jpg, Ventral view: pupating on glass, showing details of its crochets which grip the silk mat Acraea_horta00.jpg, Pupa and larva AcreaHortaPupa5618s.jpg, Pupal attachment, by crochets on posterior

proleg A proleg is a small, fleshy, stub structure found on the ventral surface of the abdomen of most larval forms of insects of the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, though they can also be found on larvae of insects such as symphyta, sawflies. In ...

s, to silken mat spun onto a masonry wall

References

External links

Images representing ''Acraea horta''
at Bold. Butterflies described in 1764 horta Butterflies of Africa Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Heliconiinae-stub