Charaxes achaemenes

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

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

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

Charaxes etesipe nominate
Charaxes penricei
Charaxes achaemenes
Charaxes paradoxa
Charaxes cacuthis

References

1 2 3 Charaxes achaemenes at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
1 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.

External links

Images of C. achaemenes achaemenes Royal Museum for Central Africa (Albertine Rift Project)
Images of C. achaemenes monticola Royal Museum for Central Africa (Albertine Rift Project)
Charaxes achaemenes images at Charaxes page Consortium for the Barcode of Life subspecies and forms
African Butterfly Database Range map via search

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