Charaxes brutus

White-barred Emperor
Charaxes brutus natalensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Tribe:	Charaxini
Genus:	Charaxes
Species:	C. brutus
Binomial name
Charaxes brutus (Cramer, [1779])[1]
Synonyms
Papilio brutus Cramer, 1779 Papilio cajus Herbst, 1790 Charaxes brutus alcyone f. nigribasalis Sevastopulo, 1973 Charaxes brutus angustus f. fractifascia Le Cerf, 1923 Charaxes brutus angustus ab. nigrescens Le Moult, 1933 Charaxes brutus var. natalensis Staudinger, 1885

The White-barred Emperor or White-barred Charaxes (Charaxes brutus) is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family. It is found in Africa (see subspecies section for detailed information).

Average wingspan is 60–75 mm in males and 75–90 mm in females. Flight period is year-round.^[2]

Description

A full description is given by Rothschild, W. And Jordan, K., 1900 Novitates Zoologicae Volume 7:287-524. page 429 et seq. (for terms see Novitates Zoologicae Volume 5:545-601 )

Life history

The larvae feed on Grewia species, Entandrophagma delevoi, Trichilia dregeana, Blighia unifugata, Melai azedarach, Trichilia emetica, and Ekebergia capensis.^[2][3]

Subspecies

The following subspecies are recognised:

• C. b. brutus (Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, western Nigeria)
• C. b. alcyone Stoneham, 1943 (Kenya: east of Rift Valley), northern and eastern Tanzania)
• C. b. angustus Rothschild, 1900 (Eastern Nigeria, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Gabon, Congo, Northern Angola, Zaire, West Uganda)
• C. b. natalensis Staudinger, 1885 (South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania)
• C. b. roberti Turlin, 1987 (Pemba Island)

Taxonomy

The members of the Charaxes jasius group are:

• Charaxes jasius
• Charaxes pelias – smaller than jasius
• Charaxes hansali
• Charaxes castor
• Charaxes brutus – dark with white bands
• Charaxes andara – Madagascar
• Charaxes ansorgei
• Charaxes phoebus
• Charaxes pollux
• Charaxes druceanus
• Charaxes phraortes – Madagascar, close to next
• Charaxes andranodorus – close to last
• Charaxes eudoxus
• Charaxes richelmanni

References

1. Afrotropical Butterflies: File H - Charaxinae - Tribe Charaxini
2. Woodhall, Steve (2005). Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town: Struik Publishers. ISBN 1-86872-724-6.
3. Charaxes, funet.fi

• 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

• Species info Images from Naturhistorisches Museum Wien
• Charaxes brutus images at Charaxes page Consortium for the Barcode of Life subspecies and forms
• Images of C. brutus angustus Royal Museum for Central Africa (Albertine Rift Project)
• Images of C. brutus natalensis (Albertine Rift Project)
• African Butterfly Database Range map via search