''Acraea johnstoni'', or Johnston's acraea, 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

Nymphalidae The Nymphalidae are the largest family of butterflies, with more than 6,000 species distributed throughout most of the world. Belonging to the superfamily Papilionoidea, they are usually medium-sized to large butterflies. Most species have a red ...

that is native to

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

Range

It is found in southern

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

, northern

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

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 ...

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 ...

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

, western

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

and eastern

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

Description

''A. johnstoni'', only differs from '' lycoa'' in not having the basal area of the hindwing uniformly rounded distally, but more or less projecting or angled in cellule 4; this character is especially pronounced on the under surface. The species is no less variable than ''lycoa''; the light spots of the fore wing are light yellow or white and the spot in 1b is placed quite free; the forms are connected by intermediates. Palpus yellowish. * ''johnstoni'' Godm. (57 d). The black ground-colour of the forewing above is restricted to the base and the distal margin, being covered in the middle by a very broad orange-yellow band, irregularly defined distally, which reaches the light yellow spots, but extends scarcely or not at all beyond them; hindwing with white basal area and broad black marginal band.

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

and

British East Africa East Africa Protectorate (also known as British East Africa) was an area in the African Great Lakes occupying roughly the same terrain as present-day Kenya from the Indian Ocean inland to the border with Uganda in the west. Controlled by Britai ...

. * f. ''fulvescens'' Oberth. Both wings above pale orange-yellow as far as the narrow marginal band, which has an almost uniform breadth of 2-3 mm.; spots of the forewing and basal area of the hindwing somewhat lighter yellow. German and British East Africa. The following forms agree with one another in having the ground-colour of the fore wing above uniform black-brown without orange-yellow median band. * f. ''confusa'' Rogenh. Spots of the forewing white; basal area of the hindwing light ochre-yellow with broad black marginal band as in the type-form; is confusingly similar to f. ''fallax'' of ''lycoa'' and commoner than the type-form.

Nyassaland Nyasaland () was a British protectorate located in Africa that was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Between 1953 and 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasalan ...

to British East Africa and

. * f. ''flavescens'' Oberth. Both the spots of the forewing and the basal area of the hindwing light ochre-yellow; otherwise similar to f. ''confusa'' and with the same distribution. * f. ''semialbescens'' Oberth. only differs from ''confusa'' in having the basal area of the hindwing brown-yellow. Nyassaland and German East Africa. * f. ''octobalia'' Karsch. Spots of the forewing and basal area of the hindwing brown-yellow. German East Africa. ''A. butleri'' Auriv. (= ''toruna'' Sm.). This species ow ''johnstoni'' subspeciesalso is regarded by Eltringham as a form of ''johnstoni''. Although the male genitalia are formed as in ''johnstoni'' it seems to me better for the present and until transitional forms have been discovered to cite ''butleri'' as a separate species, as it differs from ''johnstoni'' in the black palpus and in having the spots of the forewing quite differently developed. The spots of the forewing bright yellow; that in 4 is placed with its outer end almost as near to the distal margin as the same spot in ''johnstoni'' but is proximally long-produced and broadly united with the spot in 5; in addition the spot in 1b is joined to the one in 2 and similar spots usually occur in 3 and 1a also; hence all the light spots of the forewing are united into a yellow transverse band, which is placed behind the cell, leaves the base of cellules 2-6 free, extends from the posterior to the costal margin and has distally two large excisions (in 1b and 4); basal part of the forewing wing bright red-brown as far as the transverse band, at the base more or less blackish. Basal area of the hindwing white, yellowish or reddish; marginal band broad. German East Africa and Toro.

Biology

The habitat consists of montane forests. Adults are on wing year round. The larvae feed on '' Pouzolzia parasitica'', ''

Urera trinervis ''Urera trinervis'' (Hochst.) Friis & Immelman is a softly woody dioecious liane, sometimes epiphytic, climbing to 20 m, often to the canopy and hanging in festoons. It is one of some 44 species of ''Urera'' belonging to the nettle family Urtic ...

'', ''

Laportea ''Laportea'' is a genus of plants in the family Urticaceae. They are herbaceous, either annual or perennial. Like many plants of the Urticaceae, they have stinging hairs. There are stinging and non-stinging hairs on the same plant. The genus was ...

'' and ''

Boehmeria ''Boehmeria'' is a genus of 47 species of flowering plants in the nettle family Urticaceae. Of the species, 33 are indigenous to the Old World and 14 to the New World; no species is indigenous to both the Old and New Worlds. The species include h ...

'' species (all

Urticaceae The Urticaceae are a family, the nettle family, of flowering plants. The family name comes from the genus ''Urtica''. The Urticaceae include a number of well-known and useful plants, including nettles in the genus ''Urtica'', ramie (''Boehmeri ...

Subspecies

*''A. johnstoni johnstoni'' *''A. johnstoni butleri'' Aurivillius, 1898

Taxonomy

It is a member of the ''

Acraea jodutta ''Acraea jodutta'', the jodutta acraea, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, São Tomé and Príncipe, Gabon, the Republic of the ...

species group In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

– but see also Pierre & Bernaud, 2014. Pierre & Bernau, 2014 Classification et Liste Synonymique des Taxons du Genre ''Acraea'
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References

External links

''Die Großschmetterlinge der Erde'' 13: Die afrikanischen Tagfalter. Tafel/Plate XIII 57
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Images representing ''Acraea johnstoni''
at

Bold In typography, emphasis is the strengthening of words in a text with a font in a different style from the rest of the text, to highlight them. It is the equivalent of prosody stress in speech. Methods and use The most common methods in W ...

Images representing ''Acraea johnstoni f. fulvescens'' at BoldImages representing ''Acraea johnstoni johnstoni'' at Bold
at Pteron {{Heliconiinae-stub Butterflies described in 1885 johnstoni Butterflies of Africa Taxa named by Frederick DuCane Godman