''Acraea oreas'', the black-and-white 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 ...

. It is found in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

, the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

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 ...

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 ...

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at 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 ...

and

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 ...

Description

''A. oreas'' E. Sharpe (57 c). Both wings deep black above, with yellow markings; the forewing spotted quite as in

orma Orma may refer to: * Orma people * Orma language * Orma, Pella, a village in the municipality Almopia, northern Greece * Orma Marble Palace, situated at Kothakulangara * Orma Film Festival * Orma, Tibet * ''Orma'' (film), directed by K. K. Ra ...

'' fallax'' and '' confusa'', but in addition with a similar spot in the cell; the hindwing with a long but narrow median area, which covers the cell and the base of cellules 2-7, but is proximally bounded by vein 2, thus not nearly reaching the inner margin; the fore wing is somewhat longer and narrower than in ''johnstoni'' and ''lycoa''. On the under surface the hindwing and the apical part of the forewing have a rust-brown ground colour with black longitudinal streaks; the light markings almost as above, but the yellow median area of the hindwing emits a branch to or almost to the middle of the inner margin. Angola; German and British East Africa; Uganda, ab. ''albimaculata'' Neave. Spots of the forewing white. In the same localities as the type-form. f. ''angolana'' Lathy. now subspecies Marginal band of the hindwing beneath and apical part of the forewing with grey-yellow ground-colour; spots of the forewing white. Angola. female-ab. ''radians'' ab. nov. (= ''angolana'' female-ab. Lathy) only differs from ''angolana'' in the yellow median area of the hindwing above extending in broad rays between the veins nearly to the distal margin; the spots on the upperside of the forewing yellowish. Angola.

Subspecies

*''Acraea oreas oreas'' (Democratic Republic of the Congo: Ituri and northern Kivu, southern Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, northern and western Tanzania) *''Acraea oreas angolanus'' Lathy, 1906 (Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo: Shaba, northern Zambia) *''Acraea oreas oboti'' Collins & Larsen, 2000 (Nigeria: Obudu Plateau and Mambilla Plateau, Cameroon)

Biology

The habitat consists of mountainous areas at altitudes between 1,300 and 2,000 metres. Adults are attracted to damp patches, excrement and rotten meat. The larvae feed on '' Urera cordifolia'' and '' Morus'' species.

Taxonomy

It is a member of the '' Acraea circeis''

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'
pdf
/ref>

References

External links

''Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde'' 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 57
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Images representing ''Acraea oreas''
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 oreas oboti'' at Bold
at Pteron Butterflies described in 1891 Oreas Butterflies of Africa {{Heliconiinae-stub