Pseudacraea boisduvali

Boisduval's false acraea
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Pseudacraea
Species:	P. boisduvali
Binomial name
	Pseudacraea boisduvali; (Doubleday, 1845)[1]
Synonyms
	Diadema boisduvalii Doubleday, 1845; Pseudacraea trimenii Butler, 1874; Pseudacraea boisduvali f. beatricia Stoneham, 1965; Pseudacraea boisduvali f. westwoodi Stoneham, 1965; Pseudacraea boisduvali f. marsabitensis Carpenter and Jackson, 1950; Pseudacraea colvillei Butler, 1884; Pseudacraea boisduvali var. deficiens Karsch, 1897;

Pseudacraea boisduvali, or Boisduval's false acraea, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in most of Africa, except the north-western quarter.

Description

The wingspan is 65–70 mm for males and 75–88 mm for females. A large and most beautiful species. As in hostilia, the hindwing is yellow- red to red-yellow with black, red-spotted marginal band, but that of boisduvali has in the basal part large rounded black spots. Fore wing in the distal part more or less semitransparent with thick black longitudinal streaks between the veins, at least in cellules 2 and 3; the black spots in the basal half are large and rounded and are present both in the cell and in cellules la—-2; it should be specially noted that one of these spots is placed on vein 2. The species is considerably larger than Acraea egina , but mimics it almost exactly and has also local races corresponding to those of egina.

Biology

Adults are on wing year round, with a peak from January to May.[2]

The larvae feed on Chrysophyllum, Mimusops (including M. obovata and M. zeyheri), Manilkara discolor and Englerophytum (including E. magalismontanum and E. natalense).

Subspecies

Pseudacraea boisduvali boisduvali (Sierra Leone to Zaire, Angola, Uganda, Sudan, western Kenya)
Pseudacraea boisduvali trimenii Butler, 1874 (Port St Johns to KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Tanzania, eastern Kenya)
Pseudacraea boisduvali sayonis Ungemach, 1932 (southern Ethiopia)
Pseudacraea boisduvali marsabitensis Jackson & Howarth, 1957 (Marsabit, Mount Kulal, Mount Nyiro)
Pseudacraea boisduvali pemba Kielland, 1990 (Pemba Island)

Mimicry

Pseudacraea boisduvali is, with Acraea egina and Graphium ridleyanus, a member of a mimicry complex.

References

"Pseudacraea Westwood, [1850]" at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
Woodhall, Steve (2005). Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN 978-1-86872-724-7.

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[1] "Pseudacraea Westwood, [1850]" at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms

[2] Woodhall, Steve (2005). Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN 978-1-86872-724-7.