Bug FAQBlood-red Acraea
Rubraea petraea · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Nymphalidae
The Blood-red Acraea has a wingspan of about 45 to 55 mm, with males on the smaller side and females a bit larger. Adults show bright red to orange-yellow upper wings with strong black markings, and females have a broad white sub-apical band on the forewing. They live year-round in coastal forests from KwaZulu-Natal through Mozambique, Kenya and Malawi, peaking from November to February.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Upper wings are bright red to orange-yellow with heavy black markings. Females show a wide white band near the tip of the forewing and often a darker, reddish-grey ground colour.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Males have a wingspan of 45 to 48 mm and females 45 to 55 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
Found in coastal forest habitats across parts of southern and eastern Africa.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Caterpillars feed on the plants Xylotheca kraussiana and Xylotheca kotzei.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Larvae are gold-brown with black lines and spines, a black head with a white angled spot, and live on Oncoba kraussiana.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults can be seen throughout the year, with numbers highest from November to February.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It resembles Acraea atolmis but can be told apart by the sub-marginal dots on the forewing. Acraea rohlfsi looks similar, differing mainly in a narrower, less distinct marginal band on the hindwing underside.
Source: Wikipedia
More photos
Questions people ask
When are Blood-red Acraea butterflies most active?
They are on the wing all year, with a peak from November through February.
Source: Wikipedia
What do the caterpillars look like?
The larvae are gold-brown with black longitudinal and transverse lines, black spines, and a black head marked with a white angled spot.
Source: Wikipedia
How can I tell a female Blood-red Acraea from similar species?
Females have a broad white sub-apical band on the forewing and often a darker reddish-grey ground colour.
Source: Wikipedia
What plants do the larvae feed on?
They feed on Xylotheca kraussiana and Xylotheca kotzei.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Nymphalidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acraea_petraea
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.