Acraea terpsicore
| Tawny coster | |
|---|---|
,_Cambodia.jpg) |
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| Male, Cambodia | |
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| Underside, Kerala, India | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Nymphalidae |
| Genus: | Acraea |
| Species: | A. terpsicore |
| Binomial name | |
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Acraea terpsicore (Linnaeus, 1758) |
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| Synonyms | |
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Acraea violae (Fabricius, 1793) |
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Acraea violae (Fabricius, 1793)
Acraea terpsicore, the tawny coster, is a small, 53–64 millimetres (2.1–2.5 in), leathery, winged butterfly which is common in grassland and scrub habitats. It belongs to the Nymphalidae or brush-footed butterfly family. It has a weak fluttery flight. It is avoided by most insect predators. This species and the yellow coster (Acraea issoria) are the only two Indian representatives of the predominantly African tribe Acraeini.
Upperside tawny.
Forewing: a transverse black spot in cell, and another irregular, oblique and broader at the discocellulars; a discal series of spots in interspaces 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 10, and the apex and termen black. The upper four spots of the discal series inclined obliquely outwards, the lower two obliquely inwards; the black edging to apex and termen narrowing posteriorly, but with slender linear projections inwards in the interspaces.
Hindwing: a basal series of four or five black spots with a similar spot beyond in middle of cell and a subcostal black spot above it, followed by a discal series of obscure blackish spots and a minute postdiscal black dot in interspaces 4 and 6 respectively; finally, a broad black terminal band medially traversed by a series of small spots of the ground colour. Most of the macular black markings are obscure, being only the spots on the underside seen by the transparency of the wing membrane; the inner edge of the black terminal band crenulate.
Underside ground colour ochraceous yellow or a paler tawny yellow.
Forewing: paling to whitish on the apex, with the black markings as on the upperside but somewhat blurred and diffuse.
Hindwing: the black spots and black terminal band as on the upperside, but the spots more clearly defined, none obscure; the series of spots traversing the black terminal margin very much larger and white - not tawny; the base of the wing black, separated from the basal transverse series of black spots by two or three large whitish spots.
Antennae black, head and thorax black spotted with ochraceous and white; abdomen anteriorly black, posteriorly ochraceous yellow with narrow transverse black lines; beneath, the palpi, thorax and abdomen ochraceous, the thorax spotted with ochraceous, the abdomen with a longitudinal line of black at base.
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Wikipedia