Acraea acara
# Acraea acara

Acraea acara, commonly known as the acara acraea, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae which is native to East and southern Africa.

## Description

See Acraea zetes for diagnosis The wingspan is 55–66 mm for males and 60–72 mm for females.

## Range and habitat

It is found in South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Katanga in the southern DRC, Malawi, Tanzania, and eastern Kenya. In South Africa its range has expanded southwards since 2014, becoming more widespread in the Eastern Cape. The habitat consists of forests and woodland.

## Subspecies

There are two subspecies:

* Acraea acara acara – eastern Kenya, Tanzania, DRC: Shaba, Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Eswatini, South Africa: Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape
* Acraea acara melanophanes Le Cerf, 1927 – northern Namibia

## Taxonomy

It is a member of the Acraea zetes species group- but see also Pierre & Bernaud, 2014

