Garden acraea

Description:

Medium sized wingspan (~49 mm). Males reddish, females reddish orange. Apical half of fore wings are translucent, with prominent veins and a small dark bar at the end of the fore wing cell. Hind wings with several black dots, outer margins chequered in black.

Habitat:

My garden. Often found in woodland areas and gardens throughout South Africa.

Notes:

Breeding: Eggs are laid in clusters of about 40 (about 150 maximum per cluster) on leaves of the host plant - either Wild Peach Kiggelaria africana or a species in the Passifloraceae. They take about nine days to hatch. The young larvae are gregarious (i.e. they keep together) but as development proceeds, they spread out. Host plants: Kiggelaria africana (Wild peach); Passiflora species, including Passiflora caerulia, P. incarnata and P. quadrangularis (Granadilla)