A worldwide community photographing and learning about wildlife
Project Noah Nature School
Acraea sp.
This rather large striking Heliconiinae butterfly was spotted on the small coral island of Chumbe near the Tanzanian coastline. An old field guide found with the local rangers listed it as the “large spotted acraea” but made no reference to a scientific name. Help with exact species ID appreciated.
Flying at eye level in flowering bushes near the beach.
Wingspan about 7 cm. I believe it may be Acraea egina based on this link: http://rcdening.co.uk/rcdening_collectn/... However I’ve found little information on distribution. Chumbe Island is a coral nature reserve off Zanzibar developed since 1991. Find out more about Chumbe Island at http://www.chumbeisland.com
Spotted on Nov 19, 2011
Submitted on Dec 6, 2011
9 Comments
No need to regret, maybe you get another chance. Happens with me all the time.
Thank you Satyen! I regret not noticing the bug at the time and taking a better shot of it...
Lovely shot of the butterfly and the bug. The bug is colourful too.
Je n'y manquerai pas, j'en ai justement traité et identifié quelques unes aujourd'hui.
Merci Anne! Si vous photographiez, aussi les fleurs, j'ai créé une mission locale spécifiquement pour la flore alpine. Ne manquez pas de vous y inscrire!
Merci pour votre accueil, Daniele. Vu sa localisation, je ne risque pas de pouvoir l'identifier :-) mais il est très élégant et joliment coloré.
Thanks KarenL!
Beautiful butterfly & cute bug! I hope you can ID it.
I only noticed the bug at the basis of the leaf after I took these pics... it would be great if someone can ID it!