Acraea Fabricius 1807

Introduction

The large genus Acraea ranges from Africa to Australia. However, only five species occur outside of Africa and Madagascar. Many Acraea species serve as models for various Batesian mimics.

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Acraea caldarena larva from Mt. Mulanje, Malawi. © 2008 Bernaud Dominique

Discussion of Phylogenetic Relationships

The cladogram and composition of species groups shown is based on the phylogenetic analysis of morphological characters by Pierre (1987). The tree produced by Silva-Brandão et al. (2008) is quite incongruent with this topology, but may not include sufficient samples of the very diverse African fauna to provide reliable resolution. Nevertheless, there is strong indication in the latter data set that Acraea is paraphyletic with respect to Actinote.

The taxa included in Bematistes appear as a monophyletic group nested inside Acraea in both Pierre's tree and the Silva-Brandão et al. analysis, and may warrant recognition as a distinct genus once the relationships among the remainder of the clade are clarified. The name Miyana applies to southeast Asian species (A. moluccana, A. violae and A. meyeri) that are also nested within a subgroup of African Acraea.

An alternative scheme of relationships apparently quite different from Pierre's is implied by the classification of Henning (1992-93).

Other Names for Acraea Fabricius 1807

• Telchinia Hübner 1819 currently viewed as a subjective junior synonym
• Solenites Mabille 1887 currently viewed as a subjective junior synonym
• Phanopeltis Mabille 1887 currently viewed as a subjective junior synonym
• Aphanopeltis Mabille 1887 junior objective synonym of Acraea
• Miyana Fruhstorfer 1914 currently viewed as a subjective junior synonym
• Bematistes Hemming 1935 currently viewed as a subjective junior synonym
• Rubraea Henning 1992 currently viewed as a subjective junior synonym
• Stephenia Henning 1992 currently viewed as a subjective junior synonym

References

Ackery PR, Smith CR, and Vane-Wright RI eds. 1995. Carcasson's African butterflies. Canberra: CSIRO.

Larsen, T. B. 1991 Butterflies of Kenya and their natual history. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Larsen, T. B. 2005 Butterflies of West Africa. Stenstrup, Denmark: Apollo Books.

Henning, G. A. 1992-1993 Phylogenetic notes on the African speceis of the subfamily Acraeinae. Parts 1 - 3. Metamorphosis, 3(3):100-104; 4(1):5-18; 4(2):53-68.

Parsons M. 1999. The butterflies of Papua New Guinea: their systematics and biology. Academic Press, San Diego.

Pierre, J. 1987 Systématique cladistique chez les Acraea (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae). Annls. Soc. Ent. Fr. (N. S.) 23, 11-27.

Silva-Brandao, K. L., Wahlberg, N., Francini, R. B., Azeredo-Espin, A. M. L., Brown, K. S. J., Paluch, M., Lees, D. C. & Freitas, A. V. L. 2008 Phylogenetic relationships of butterflies of the tribe Acraeini (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Heliconiinae) and the evolution of host plant use. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 46, 515-531.

Information on the Internet

• Le site des Acraea de Dominique Bernaud. This website, compiled by Dominique Bernaud, contains an enormous amount of taxonomic, biogeographical and life-history information, as well as original descriptions and photos of African Acraeini.