Acraea ranavalona is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found on Madagascar and the Comoros.[3]

Acraea ranavalona
Female
Male
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Acraea
Species:
A. ranavalona
Binomial name
Acraea ranavalona
Synonyms
  • Acraea (Acraea) ranavalona
  • Acraea maransetra Ward, 1872
  • Acraea manandaza Ward, 1872
Acraea ranavalona butterflies mating, Anjajavy Forest, Madagascar

Description edit

A. ranavalona Bdv. (53 c, d). Forewing at the base as far as vein 2 bright red (male) or almost completely hyaline (female); hindwing with grey, often semitransparent, red-spotted marginal band, the red marginal spots proximally bounded by sharply defined black submarginal dots; basal and discal dots distinct; ground-colour beneath white, above in the male bright red, in the female white or whitish. Madagascar and Comoros. - female ab. manandaza Ward (53 d). Ground-colour of the hindwing more or less reddish. Madagascar - ab. maransetra Ward. The discal dots of the hindwing united into a transverse band. Madagascar. [4]

Biology edit

The habitat consists of forests. The colours in life may be much brighter than those shown in early collections and in museums.

Taxonomy edit

It is a member of the Acraea terpsicore species group - but see also Pierre & Bernaud, 2014 [5]

  • Acraea (group ranavalona) ranavalona; Henning, 1993, Metamorphosis 4 (1): 11
  • Acraea (Acraea) (group neobule) ranavalona; Pierre & Bernaud, 2013, Butterflies of the World 39: 5, pl. 15, f. 8-10

References edit

  1. ^ Boisduval, J.B.A. 1833. Mémoire sur les Lépidoptères de Madagascar, Bourbon et Maurice. Nouvelles Annales du Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle. Paris 2: 149-270.
  2. ^ "Acraea Fabricius, 1807" at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
  3. ^ "Afrotropical Butterflies: Nymphalidae - Tribe Acraeini". Archived from the original on 2012-08-10. Retrieved 2012-05-31.
  4. ^ Aurivillius, [P.O.]C. 1908-1924. In: Seitz, A. Die Grosschmetterlinge der Erde Band 13: Abt. 2, Die exotischen Grosschmetterlinge, Die afrikanischen Tagfalter, 1925, 613 Seiten, 80 Tafeln (The Macrolepidoptera of the World 13).Alfred Kernen Verlag, Stuttgart.  This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ^ Pierre & Bernau, 2014 Classification et Liste Synonymique des Taxons du Genre Acraea pdf

External links edit