Acraea orestia, the Orestia glassy acraea, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the Central African Republic, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.[1]
A. orestia Hew. (56 g). Forewing diaphanous, at the margins and veins and at the base dark-scaled, cellules 1 a and 1 b to beyond the middle, the base of cellule 2 and usually also a small spot in the cell light orange-yellow to red. Hindwing on both surfaces light orange-yellow with black basal dots and fully developed discal dots and with a sharply defined grey or black semitransparent marginal band. Nigeria to Angola and Uganda. -ab. transita Eltr. Fore wing without reddish scaling; hindwing instead of the red colour yellow or white. Uganda and Tiriki Hills. -ab. humilis E. Sharpe.[now species ''[[Acraea humilis]] ] Both wings transparent without red or yellow scales and above almost alike; the hindwing beneath at the base with some small black dots, which are not visible above; the discal dots are wanting. A very degenerate form. Uganda and Tiriki. [2]
The habitat consists of disturbed forests and successional growth.
The larvae feed on Laportea ovalifolia.
It is a member of the Acraea pentapolis species group. - but see also Pierre & Bernaud, 2014 [3]