Acraea serena

It is very likely that the butterfly's black-spotted orange markings are a sign of unpalatability and it may well form part of a mimicry ring with Erikssonia edgei.

Aurivillius (1898) considers that manjaca Boisduval is a variety of Fabricius' serena which had, in turn, been put in synonymy with terpsicore Linnaeus by Butler (1894), and which then was thought to be eponina Cramer (Le Doux, 1928, Carcasson, 1961).

A. serena is a common species and very variable, especially in the female; it occurs everywhere in the region except in Arabia and forms some not quite sharply defined races.

In the type-form the sexes are quite similar and above coloured and marked almost exactly as in ventura (56 a); the subapical band of the forewing is completely separated from the red-yellow basal half and is red-yellow or sometimes in the female whitish; both wings above and beneath with distinct yellow marginal spots; the basal area of the hindwing beneath without red streaks or only in 1 c and the cell with a red streak between the black dots; the marginal band always without red stripes on the interneural folds.

(the females 56 a are transitional to janisca) the red-yellow colour is replaced by dark grey and the subapical band of the forewing is usually white.

the wings are unicolorous black with an irregular white spot instead of the subapical band of the forewing and beneath only relieved with yellowish at the distal margin and at the base.

Aberratio form toka Strand closely approximates to typical rougeti, only differing materially in having the proximal boundary-line of the marginal band on the underside of the hindwing black instead of reddish.

Aberratio form intermediana Strand is another nearly allied aberration to rougeti, distinguished by the strong development of the red basal streak and the somewhat broader marginal band on the hindwing beneath.

How Strand, who has access to the extensive material of the Berlin Museum, could regard intermediana and eliana (rougeti ) as independent species, is difficult to explain, as they obviously intergrade without sharp delimitation into the other terpsichore forms and are only characterized by trifling differences.

forms a transition to the following race; the underside of the hindwing has between the basal and discal dots red streaks in 1 c, 7 and in the cell; the marginal band is, however of uniform breadth with marginal spots of almost equal size, which at their proximal end have at most a reddish dot or spot.