White-barred Acraea

Afrikaans name: Witstreep-rootjie

White-barred Acraea

Photo © Steven Herbert

Telchinia encedon

The White-barred Acraea is also known as the Common Acraea or Encedon Acraea. It is quite widely distributed in Africa as well as portions of Arabia. In South Africa it is only found along the eastern portion of the country.

Females are a bit bigger than males and can have a wingspan of up to 5 cm. Apart from the size difference male and female have similar patterns and colours.

The colouring of this species is similar to the African Monarch. This mimicry is probably to take advantage of the African Monarch being unpalatable.

Although the Whate-barred Acraea is most commonly seen towards the end of summer they may be seen all year round. They fly slowly and perch regularly on low plants.

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References and further reading

Butterflies of Southern Africa - A field guide - Author: Mark Williams - Year Published: 1994 - Page: 120

Butterflies of the Kruger National Park - Author: Johan Kloppers and the late Dr. G. Van Son - Year Published: 1978 - Page: 66

Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa - Author: Steve Woodhall - Year Published: 2005 - Page: 98

Gardening for Butterflies - Author: Steve Woodhall & Lindsay Gray - Year Published: 2015 - Page: 39

What's That Butterfly - Author: Steve Woodhall - Year Published: 2008 - Page: 553