Abisara delicata

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	ARTHROPODA	INSECTA	LEPIDOPTERA	RIODINIDAE

Scientific Name:

Abisara delicata

Species Authority:

Lathy, 1901

Common Name/s:

English

–

Delicate Judy

Taxonomic Notes:

Three subspecies have been proposed (A. delicata delicata, A. delicata tanzania, A. delicata zanzibarica).

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:	Least Concern ver 3.1
Year Published:	2011
Assessor/s:	Larsen, T.B.
Reviewer/s:	Lewis, O. & Böhm, M.
Contributor/s:	Senior, M.
Justification: Abisara delicata has been assessed as Least Concern. From existing data it is not possible to accurately estimate the area of occupancy (AOO) or estimate of occurrence (EOO), but both are likely to far exceed the thresholds for a threatened listing. The species is also thought to be fairly common across its range, although the population on Zanzibar Island may be in decline.

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	The nominate subspecies was described from Malawi, where it is widely distributed in the submontane forests of the Malawi highlands (Zomba (TL), Mt. Mlanje, Kuche River; Mzuzu; Ruo Valley; Lichebya, Magunda Estate, Muchenza (Callaghan 2003)). Subspecies tanzania occurs in the mountains of northeastern Tanzania (Usambara, Ngu’u, Nguru, and Uzungwa mountains). The third subspecies, zanzibarica, is limited to ZanzibarIsland at low levels compared to the other subspecies.
Countries:	Native: Malawi; Tanzania, United Republic of
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	The two mainland populations are known from numerous records, and therefore although exact population trends are not known it is fair to say that on the whole the species is fairly common across its distribution. However, the Zanzibar population on its own is probably near threatened or vulnerable (T.B. Larsen pers. comm. 2008).
Population Trend:	Unknown

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	The habitat of this butterfly is submontane and lowland forests east of the main Rift Valley, including the Eastern Arc forests in Tanzania.
Systems:	Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	The Zanzibar population on its own is probably Near Threatened or Vulnerable. This status is likely to be due to deforestation driven by urban expansion and small-scale shifting agriculture (Kindo et al. 2002).

Major Threat(s):

The Zanzibar population on its own is probably Near Threatened or Vulnerable. This status is likely to be due to deforestation driven by urban expansion and small-scale shifting agriculture (Kindo et al. 2002).

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	There are currently no conservation actions in place for this species. However, this butterfly is an indicator species of Eastern Arc forests and should be monitored to assess the status of these forests (T.B. Larsen pers. comm. 2008). This would benefit conservation of both the Eastern Arc forests and this butterfly.

Conservation Actions:

There are currently no conservation actions in place for this species. However, this butterfly is an indicator species of Eastern Arc forests and should be monitored to assess the status of these forests (T.B. Larsen pers. comm. 2008). This would benefit conservation of both the Eastern Arc forests and this butterfly.

Citation:	Larsen, T.B. 2011. Abisara delicata. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 19 June 2013.
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