Bug FAQDusky Acraea
Telchinia esebria · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Nymphalidae
The dusky acraea is a medium-sized butterfly with a wingspan of about 45 to 55 mm in males and 53 to 60 mm in females. It is found in southern and eastern Africa, from South Africa’s Eastern Cape through Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, Tanzania and eastern Kenya.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Males have a wingspan of 45 to 55 mm; females are larger at 53 to 60 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Caterpillars feed on a variety of plants such as Urtica, Laportea peduncularis, Urera species, Obetia tenax, Pouzolzia species and Fleurya mitis.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Eggs are oval in shape.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults can be seen year-round but are most common from December to April, the warmer months.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
The species is native to southern and eastern Africa.
Source: Wikipedia
More photos
Same family (Nymphalidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acraea_esebria
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 2026-10-23.