Acraea (Actinote) encedon encedon ( Linnaeus, 1758 )

Bivar-De-Sousa, António, Vasconcelos, Sasha, Mendes, Luís F., Larsen, Torben B., Baker, Jon & Guilherme, João L., 2016, Butterflies of Guinea-Bissau: VIII. New data, new reports, corrections and biodiversity (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea), Zootaxa 4201 (1), pp. 1-77 : 48

185. Acraea (Actinote) encedon encedon ( Linnaeus, 1758)

WL: 25mm. This is a morphologically variable butterfly, common in savanna and extending to open or degraded forest, open areas around villages or towns, and to coastal zones. This subspecies occurs throughout tropical Africa and Madagascar, while A. e. rathjensi flies in southern Arabia. In many areas females exhibit higher abundances than males, as a result of the selective attack of male chrysalises by Wolbachia bacteria (Larsen, 2005). The caterpillars are known to feed on Commelina difusa (Commelinaceae) and other representatives of the same genus, as well as on Pouzolzia (Urticaceae) .

Previous references. Regions: Bafatá, Bissau, Oio. Authors: Le Doux (1931), Bacelar (1949), Villiers (1949), Larsen (2005), Consciência et al. (2008), Pierre & Bernaud (2009, map).

Probable abundance and proposed status. AB: R; CS: I.