Charaxes achaemenes

Charaxes achaemenes, the bushveld emperor or bush charaxes, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae found across Africa.[1]

Bushveld emperor
Male upper and underside
Female upperside
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Charaxes
Species:
C. achaemenes
Binomial name
Charaxes achaemenes
C. & R. Felder, 1867
Synonyms
  • Charaxes achaemenes fasciatus Suffert, 1904
  • Charaxes achaemenes achaemenes ab. glaucomaculata Cordeiro, 1990
  • Charaxes achaemenes f. monticola Joicey and Talbot, 1925
  • Charaxes jocaste Butler, 1869
  • Charaxes achaemenes ab. minor Storace, 1948
  • Charaxes achaemenes f. erythraea Storace, 1948

The wingspan is 55–60 mm in males and 60–70 mm in females. Flight period is year-round.[2]

Larvae feed on Pterocarpus rotundifolius, Pterocarpus angolensis, Xanthocercis zambesiaca, Dalbergia boehmii, Piliostigma thonningii, Pterocarpus erinaceus, Dalbergia nitidula, and Brachystegia spiciformis.[1][2]

Description

A full description is given by Walter Rothschild and Karl Jordan (1900). Novitates Zoologicae Volume 7:287-524. page 460-463 (for terms see Novitates Zoologicae Volume 5:545-601 )

Subspecies

Listed alphabetically:[1]

  • C. a. achaemenes C. & R. Felder, 1867 (eastern Kenya, Tanzania, south-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, south-eastern Angola, Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland)
  • C. a. atlantica van Someren, 1970 (Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo)
  • C. a. monticola Joicey & Talbot, 1925 (northern Nigeria, northern Cameroon, Central African Republic, Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo: Ituri, western Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya: west of the Rift Valley)

Taxonomy

Charaxes achaemenes is a member of the species group Charaxes etesipe

The clade members are

See also

References
  1. Charaxes achaemenes at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
  2. Woodhall, Steve (2005). Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN 978-1-86872-724-7.
  • Victor Gurney Logan Van Someren (1970). Revisional notes on African Charaxes (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Part VI. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) (Entomology)197-250.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.