Acraea penelope, the Penelope acraea or Penelope's acraea, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Nigeria, Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. The habitat consists of sub-montane forests. Description A. penelope differs from the very similar species in the abbreviated streaks on the underside of the hindwing, which do not reach the distal margin; the cell of the forewing is sometimes unicolorous dark without spots, sometimes more or less diaphanous; the forewing in 1-6 with light or transparent spots, which are often united into a transverse band; the hindwing above at the base broadly darkened (occasionally in the females very slightly) and then with a red or red-yellow (occasionally light yellow) median band and broad black marginal band. The under surface of the hindwing is light coloured, usually yellowish, and has in the basal part the usual dots, 2 in cellule 7 and 1-3 in the cell. The species is very variable and the forms intergrade without any sharp dividing-line. - penelope Stgr. (57 b). Wings thickly scaled, ground-colour black; the spots in cellules 1-3 of the forewing small, free, rounded, red or reddish, the one in 3 often absent; those in cellules 4-6 are also small and form a sharply defined, whitish transparent subapical band; hindwing with narrow red median band, beneath light yellow with thick black streaks proximally often united on the veins. Specimens in which spots 1 b and 2 are larger, lighter and more or less transparent constitute transitions to the following forms. Congo and Uganda. - female -ab. argentea Eltr. Spots transparent and continuous, forming a transverse band, which, however, does not entirely cover the base of cellules 3-6; those in cellules 1 b and 2 proximally tinged with reddish; median band of the hindwing red-yellow, about 5 mm. in breadth; dark marginal band of the upper surface with distinct black longitudinal streaks; under surface except in the middle with silver-grey ground-colour. Uganda.- female -ab. exalbescens Eltr. resembles the type-form in pattern, but all the red markings are replaced by yellowish white and the marginal band on the upper surface is as broad as in argentea, 3-4 mm. Ground-colour of the under surface yellowish white. Uganda. -female ab. sulphurescens ab. nov. closely approaches the preceding form; spots 1 b and 2 of the forewing elongate-rounded, thinly scaled with yellowish, 3-6 diaphanous;