''Pseudacraea boisduvali'', or Boisduval's false 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 ...

of 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 has an extensive range which includes much of the tropics and subtropics of

sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

Description

left, 230px, Male and female of the southernmost race, ''P. b. trimenii'', illustrated in Seitz (1910) The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

is 65–70 mm for males and 75–88 mm for females. A large and most beautiful species. As in '' hostilia'', the hindwing is yellow-red to red-yellow with black, red-spotted marginal band, but that of ''boisduvali'' has in the basal part large rounded black spots. Fore wing in the distal part more or less semitransparent with thick black longitudinal streaks between the veins, at least in cellules 2 and 3; the black spots in the basal half are large and rounded and are present both in the cell and in cellules 1a–2; it should be specially noted that one of these spots is placed on vein 2. The species is considerably larger than '' Acraea egina'', but mimics it almost exactly and has also local races corresponding to those of ''egina''.

Biology

Adults are on wing year round, with a peak from January to May. The larvae feed on the foliage of various members of the

Sapotaceae 240px, '' Madhuca longifolia'' var. ''latifolia'' in Narsapur, Medak district, India The Sapotaceae are a family (biology), family of flowering plants belonging to the order (biology), order Ericales. The family includes about 800 species of ev ...

, namely ''

Chrysophyllum ''Chrysophyllum'' is a group of trees in the Sapotaceae described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753. The genus is native to tropical regions throughout the world, with the greatest number of species in northern South America. One species, '' C. oli ...

'', ''

Mimusops ''Mimusops'' is a genus of plants in the family Sapotaceae described as a genus by Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Sw ...

'' (including '' M. obovata'' and '' M. zeyheri''), ''

Manilkara discolor ''Manilkara'' is a genus of trees in the family Sapotaceae. They are widespread in tropical and semitropical locations, in Africa, Madagascar, Asia, Australia, and Latin America, as well as various islands in the Pacific and in the Caribbean. ...

'' and ''

Englerophytum ''Englerophytum'' is a group of trees in the family Sapotaceae described as a genus in 1914. ''Englerophytum'' consists primarily of trees. Their leaves are leathery with dense appressed hairs on the undersides. The genus is widespread across t ...

'' (including '' E. magalismontanum'' and '' E. natalense'').

Subspecies

left, 230px, Male ''P. b. trimenii'' basking on foliage in Lekgalameetse Provincial Park, South Africa *''Pseudacraea boisduvali boisduvali'' —

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...

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

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 ...

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 ...

, western

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

*''Pseudacraea boisduvali trimenii'' Butler, 1874 — Port St Johns to

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

Eswatini Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

, eastern Kenya *''Pseudacraea boisduvali sayonis'' Ungemach, 1932 — southern

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 ...

*''Pseudacraea boisduvali marsabitensis'' Jackson & Howarth, 1957 —

Marsabit Marsabit is a town in the northern Marsabit County in Kenya. It is situated in the former Eastern Province and is almost surrounded by the Marsabit National Park. The town is located east of the centre of the East African Rift at an elevation o ...

Mount Kulal Mount Kulal is an eroded-down extinct volcano located in northern Kenya, just east of Lake Turkana. The mountain has an elevation of . The lakeside town of Loiyangalani is located west of Mount Kulal. Mount Kulal has been a biosphere reserve s ...

Mount Nyiro Mount Ng'iro is a mountain in the north of Kenya overlooking the Suguta Valley, part of the Great Rift Valley, to the west. The mountain is surrounded by desert, but is forested on its upper slopes. It lies in the territory of the Samburu people. ...

(all in Kenya) *''Pseudacraea boisduvali pemba'' Kielland, 1990 —

Pemba Island Pemba Island ( ar, الجزيرة الخضراء ''al-Jazīra al-khadrā'', literally "The Green Island"; sw, Pemba kisiwa) is a Tanzanian island forming part of the Zanzibar Archipelago, lying within the Swahili Coast in the Indian Ocean. Geog ...

Mimicry

''Pseudacraea boisduvali'' is, with '' Acraea egina'' and '' Graphium ridleyanus'', a member of a mimicry complex.

References

{{Limenitidinae-stub Butterflies described in 1845 Limenitidinae