Garden Acraea

Garden Acraea

Acraea horta

Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
at Pretoria

In 3 days ~70% in a week ~90%

182 Verified sightings at Pretoria
987 In all 3 parks From 2019 to 2026
October Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Garden Acraea

Acraea horta or the garden acraea is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in South Africa and Zimbabwe. A. horta L. (53 e, f) is one of the longest known and commonest Acraeids of the Cape, but it is also native to Pondoland, Natal, Zululand, Transvaal and Zimbabwe. It has a typical wingspan of 45–50 mm for males and 49–53 mm for females. The male is similar to that of neobule, but differs in having the black dots of the fore wing absent or only represented by a dot in the cell and another in 1b, the marginal spots of the hind wing small, elongate and incompletely separated from the ground-colour and the hindwing beneath red at the inner margin and the marginal band. In the female the forewing is almost entirely hyaline and the hindwing above light yellow to grey-yellow, beneath whitish with larger marginal spots, bounded by distinct lunules. The larva is brown-yellow with black transverse lines and yellow 7 lateral and dorsal lines, while the head and spines are black. The larva lives on Kiggelaria africana and various Passiflora species.

female ab. conjuncta Blachier is distinguished by having the discal dots of the hindwing changed into long, broad... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Golden Gate Highlands National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~40%
2 Table Mountain National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~30%
3 Garden Route National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Pretoria 🇿🇦 South Africa
~30%
2 Johannesburg 🇿🇦 South Africa
~30%
3 Cape Town 🇿🇦 South Africa
~30%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Garden Acraea in Pretoria?

Possible

About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Garden Acraea sighting in Pretoria on a given day, based on 182 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the most-seen of the 274 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Garden Acraea in Pretoria?

February, August, October and December

In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Garden Acraea in Pretoria on a given day, against about 10% in June, the lowest month.

What time of day is best to see a Garden Acraea?

Between 10 am and 1 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Garden Acraea sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Pretoria the best place to see a Garden Acraea?

Yes

Of the 3 cities where we can rate Garden Acraea sightings, Pretoria has the highest daily chance: about 30%. Next come Johannesburg (South Africa, about 30%) and Cape Town (South Africa, about 30%).

Which relatives of the Garden Acraea live in Pretoria?

Same genus: Acraea

The closest relatives of the Garden Acraea that you can see in Pretoria (genus Acraea, Acraeas) are Dancing Amber (about 20%) and Whitebar Acraea (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Garden Acraea sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Garden Acraea is recorded against all the insects logged in Pretoria (182 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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