Charaxes etesipe

Charaxes etesipe
Charaxes etesipe etesipe from Cameroon. Mounted specimen, dorsal view
Charaxes etesipe etesipe from Cameroon. Mounted specimen, ventral view
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Tribe:	Charaxini
Genus:	Charaxes
Species:	C. etesipe
Binomial name
Charaxes etesipe (Godart, 1824)[1]
Synonyms
Nymphalis etesipe Godart, 1824 Nymphalis etheta Godart, 1824 Charaxes etesipe etesipe f. castoroides Poulton, 1926 Charaxes etesipe f. caeruleotincta Carpenter, 1945 Charaxes tavetensis Rothschild, 1894

The Savannah Charaxes or Scarce Forest Emperor (Charaxes etesipe) is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family.

Description

The wingspan is 35–38 millimetres (1.4–1.5 in) for male. The females are larger, reaching 37–45 millimetres (1.5–1.8 in).

The uppersides of the forewings are blackish blue with greenish tint. The outer margin are generally denticulate, with a series of white discal spots. In the hindwings of both sexes there are short tails and a complete series of large pale blue patches. The undersides of the wings are variegated with cream and drab colours.

Adults are on wing from August to October and from March to June. There are two generations per year.^[2]

The larvae of ssp. tavetensis feed on Afzelia quanzensis, Dalbergia nitidula, Securidaca longipeduncularis and Margaritaria discoidea. Other subspecies have been recorded on Entada and Afzelia quanzensis.

Distribution

This species can be found in tropical East and West Africa and in Madagascar.

Taxonomy

Charaxes etesipe is a member of the species group Charaxes etesipe

The clade members are

• Charaxes etesipe Nominate
• Charaxes penricei
• Charaxes achaemenes
• Charaxes paradoxa
• Charaxes cacuthis

Subspecies

• Charaxes etesipe etesipe (Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Nigeria, southern Chad, Cameroon, southern Sudan, northern Angola, Uganda, northern Kenya)
• Charaxes etesipe abyssinicus Rothschild & Jordan, 1900 (Ethiopia (West of Rift)
• Charaxes etesipe gordoni van Someren, 1935 (Kenya (north-eastern side of Mounnt Kenya))
• Charaxes etesipe hercules Turlin & Lequeux, 2002 (Uganda)
• Charaxes etesipe patrizii Storace, 1949 (Somalia)
• Charaxes etesipe pemba van Someren, 1966 (Pemba Island)
• Charaxes etesipe shaba Berger, 1981 (Zaire (Shaba))
• Charaxes etesipe tavetensis Rothschild, 1894 (Malawi, Mozambique, coast of Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa) Perhaps species

Subspecies gallery

• 

  C. e. abyssinicus from Ethiopia

• 

  C. e. etesipe from Cameroon. Dorsal view

• 

  C. e. etesipe from Cameroon. Ventral view

Gallery of References

1. Charaxes, Site of Markku Savela
2. Woodhall, S. (2005). Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town: Struik Publishers.

• Victor Gurney Logan Van Someren (1966). Revisional notes on African Charaxes (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Part III. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) (Entomology) 45-101.

External links

• Pteron World
• Lepidoptera
• Charaxes etesipe images subspecies and forma at Consortium for the Barcode of Life.
• Charaxes tavetensis images at BOLD
• Charaxes tavetensis tavetensis images at BOLD (verso)
• Charaxes tavetensis pemba images at BOLD
• Images of C. etesipe etesipe Royal Museum for Central Africa (Albertine Rift Project)
• Images of C. etesipe gordoni (Albertine Rift Project)
• Images of C. etesipe shaba (Albertine Rift Project)
• Images of C. etesipe tavetensis (Albertine Rift Project)