Mimacraea marshalli, Marshall's acraea mimic, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia and Zimbabwe.[2] The habitat consists of Brachystegia woodland in hilly country at altitudes ranging from 1,200 to 1,700 metres, as well as open woodland.
Mimacraea marshalli | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Family: | Lycaenidae |
Genus: | Mimacraea |
Species: | M. marshalli
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Binomial name | |
Mimacraea marshalli | |
Synonyms | |
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Adults feed from the secretions of scale insects (Coccoidea species). Adults are on wing from October to May.
Subspecies
edit- Mimacraea marshalli marshalli (Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, north-eastern and eastern Zimbabwe, Democratic Republic of the Congo: Sankuru, Lualaba, South Kivu and Haut-Uele)
- Mimacraea marshalli dohertyi Rothschild, 1901 (Kenya: highlands east of the Rift Valley, Tanzania: north to the Arusha district)
Mimicry
editM. marshalli is a Batesian mimic of another butterfly found in eastern Africa, Danaus chrysippus.
References
editWikimedia Commons has media related to Mimacraea marshalli.
Wikispecies has information related to Mimacraea marshalli.
- ^ Mimacraea at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and some other life forms
- ^ "Afrotropical Butterflies: Lycaenidae - Subtribe Mimacraeina". Archived from the original on 2013-09-27. Retrieved 2012-10-01.