''Abisara delicata'', the delicate Judy is a

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

in the family

Riodinidae Riodinidae is the family of metalmark butterflies. The common name "metalmarks" refers to the small, metallic-looking spots commonly found on their wings. The 1532 species are placed in 146 genera. Although mostly Neotropical in distribution, t ...

. It is found in

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

and

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

Geographic distribution

''Abisara delicata'' is widely distributed in the submontane forests of the Malawi highlands. Subspecies ''tanzania'' occurs in the

Usambara The Usambara Mountains of northeastern Tanzania in tropical East Africa, comprise the easternmost ranges of the Eastern Arc Mountains. The ranges of approximately long and about half that wide, are situated in the Lushoto District of the Tang ...

, Nguu,

Nguru Nguru may refer to: * Pila Nguru, an aboriginal people of Australia * Nguru (flute), a small Māori nose flute from New Zealand * Nguru, Nigeria, a town and LGA in Yobe State * Hadejia-Nguru wetlands, northern Nigeria * Nguru Lake, a lake whic ...

, and Udzungwa mountains of northeastern

. Subspecies ''zanzibarica'' is restricted to

Zanzibar Island Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands ...

Ecology

The species can be found in submontane and lowland forests east of the main

Rift Valley A rift valley is a linear shaped lowland between several highlands or mountain ranges created by the action of a geologic rift. Rifts are formed as a result of the pulling apart of the lithosphere due to extensional tectonics. The linear dep ...

, including the

Eastern Arc forests The Eastern Arc forests is a montane Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to strat ...

in Tanzania.

Subspecies

*''Abisara delicata delicata'' (highlands of Malawi) *''Abisara delicata tanzania'' Kielland, 1986 (eastern Tanzania) *''Abisara delicata zanzibarica'' Collins, 1990 (Tanzania: Zanzibar)

References

* * Butterflies described in 1901 Abisara Butterflies of Africa {{Riodinidae-stub