Blood-red Acraea butterfly

Afrikaans name: Bloed-rooitjie

Photo © Steven Herbert

Acraea petraea

The Blood-red Acraea is only found in KwaZulu-Natal and Mozambique.

They occur in areas of coastal forest, particularly along the forest edge. They may also be found in parks and gardens.

The Blood-red Acraea is a medium sized butterfly with both male and female having a wingspan of around 5 cm. Females may be slightly larger than males.

Males have red wings while the females are more brownish-red with white patches.

They may be seen all-year round but the population peaks in summer.

References and further reading

Whats That Butterfly - Author: Steve Woodhall - Published: 2008 - Page: 563

Ivor Migdolls Field Guide to the Butterflies of Southern Africa - Author: Ivor Migdoll - Published: 1987 - Page: 157

Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa - 1st edition - Author: Steve Woodhall - Published: 2005 - Page: 92

Gardening for Butterflies - Author: Steve Woodhall & Lindsay Gray - Published: 2015 - Page: 34

Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa - 2nd edition - Author: Steve Woodhall - Published: 2020 - Page: 98

Butterflies of Southern Africa - A field guide - Author: Mark Williams - Published: 1994 - Page: 126

Butterfly Gardening in South Africa - Author: Jill Reid - Published: 2000 - Page: 50

Butterfly Gardening in South Africa - Author: Jill Reid - Published: 2000 - Page: 80

Familiar South African Butterflies - Author: Clive Quickelberge - Published: 1986 - Page: 21

For more info: The Virtual Museum

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