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
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Acraea
Species:
A. alalonga
Binomial name
Acraea alalonga
(Henning & Henning, 1996) [1]
Synonyms
  • Actinote alalonga Henning & Henning, 1996
  • Hyalites alalonga (Henning & Henning, 1996)
  • Telchinia alalonga Henning & Henning, 1996

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

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It is a member of the Acraea rahira species group- but see also Pierre & Bernaud, 2014 [3]

References

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ Woodhall, Steve (2005). Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN 978-1-86872-724-7.
  3. ^ Pierre & Bernau, 2014 Classification et Liste Synonymique des Taxons du Genre Acraea pdf