Acraea alalonga, the long-winged orange acraea, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in montane grassland from the Drakensberg and midlands in KwaZulu-Natal, north into Mpumalanga and the Wolkberg in Limpopo.
Long-winged orange acraea | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Family: | Nymphalidae |
Genus: | Acraea |
Species: | A. alalonga
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Binomial name | |
Acraea alalonga (Henning & Henning, 1996) [1]
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Synonyms | |
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The wingspan is 54–74 mm for males and 58–74 mm for females. Adults are on wing from November to January (with a peak in December) and from March to May (with a peak in April). There are two generations per year.[2]
The larvae feed on Fabaceae species, including Aeschynomene species.
Taxonomy
editIt is a member of the Acraea rahira species group- but see also Pierre & Bernaud, 2014 [3]
References
editWikispecies has information related to Acraea alalonga.
- ^ Henning, G.A., & Henning, S.F. 1996 A review of the Hyalites (Auracraea) anacreon species complex in southern Africa with descriptions of two new species and two new subspecies. Metamorphosis 7 (2): 71-80.
- ^ Woodhall, Steve (2005). Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN 978-1-86872-724-7.
- ^ Pierre & Bernau, 2014 Classification et Liste Synonymique des Taxons du Genre Acraea pdf