BUTTERFLY
Research, Conservation and Education
Semuliki National Park, Uganda

Genus Acraea: A largely pantropical genus, with 239 (309 including subspecies) Afrotropical species described and 109 species recorded in Uganda (Bernaud et al., 2019). At Semuliki a total of 47 species (21 subgenus Acraea and 26 subgenus Actinote) have been recorded. Two extra species (A. endoscota and A. ventura) have been confirmed at Semuliki (Bernaud pers. comm) since the Forbes (2018) checklist. This contributes to just under 50% of the Ugandan species total. The Albertine Rift zone of endemism (that includes Semuliki) - with a distinct zone of endemism within this zone that includes an area uniting the two arms of the northern rift - contains the richest diversity of Acraea taxa at 127, with 30 of these taxa being endemic - 17 from the subgenus Actinote and 13 from the subgenus Acraea (Bernaud, 2023).

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​​​​There has been disagreement on the classification of this group. Most recently, and with in-depth detail of historical and current taxonomic research of the Acraea by the author and his colleague  J. Pierre, Bernaud, (2023) has consistently proposed a classification describing a monophyletic genus (Acraea), with two subgenera: Actinote (127 taxa, including subspecies) and Acraea (182 taxa, including subspecies). Using  quantitative phylogenetic analysis and gene sequencing, they concluded that the Afrotropical, Neotropical and Asian Acraea appear to be just one monophyletic clade, with the exception of the epaea group. Phylogenetic trees of divergence show the Acraea subgenus as consumers of Passifloraceae (a family of shrubs, vines and trees) and the subgenus Actinote, consumers of plants other than Passifloraceae. The Actinote subgenus is equivalent to the genera Rubraea, Stephenia, Tildia, Acraea and Bematistes and the Acraea subgenus is equivalent to the genus Telchinia from the phylogeny as described by Williams (2023). The Bernaud and Pierre classification will be used here to represent the species recorded at Semuliki.