Charaxes bipunctatus, the two-spot blue charaxes, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, Uganda, Sudan, Kenya and Tanzania.[3] A local and uncommon butterfly.

Charaxes bipunctatus
Male C. b. ugandensis from the CAR
Female C. b. ugandensis from Kenya
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Charaxes
Species:
C. bipunctatus
Binomial name
Charaxes bipunctatus
Synonyms
  • Charaxes bipunctatus johnstoni Rousseau-Decelle, 1956

Description

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Ch. bipunctatus Rothsch. is another close ally of tiridates, distinguished chiefly by the very short, tooth- like tails of the hindwing. Both sexes above coloured and marked like those of tiridates ; the blue spots, however, in the male in part indistinct or absent and the marginal streaks of the hindwing thick, ochre-yellow and not interrupted. Ashanti to Aruwimi.[4] A full description is also given by Walter Rothschild and Karl Jordan, 1900 Novitates Zoologicae volume 7:287-524. [1] page 390 (for terms see Novitates Zoologicae volume 5:545-601 [2]) Differs from Charaxes tiridates and Charaxes numenes in that there are only two hindwing postdiscal spots (in spaces 5 and 6) and in the continuous yellowish distal margin [5]

 
Habitat in Kenya

Biology

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The habitat consists of lowland evergreen forests and sub-montane forests at altitudes between 1,200 and 1,500 meters.

The larvae feed on Blighia unijugata.

Taxonomy

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Charaxes tiridates group

The supposed clade members are:

For a full list see Eric Vingerhoedt, 2013[6]

Subspecies

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  • C. b. bipunctatus (Ivory Coast, Ghana, western Nigeria)
  • C. b. ugandensis van Someren, 1972[7] (Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, western Uganda, western Kenya, southern Sudan, north-western Tanzania)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Rothschild, W. 1894. Some new species of Lepidoptera. Novitates Zoologicae 1: 535-540.
  2. ^ "Charaxes Ochsenheimer, 1816" at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
  3. ^ "Afrotropical Butterflies: File H - Charaxinae - Tribe Charaxini". Archived from the original on 2013-11-09. Retrieved 2012-05-23.
  4. ^ Aurivillius, [P.O.]C. 1908-1924. In: Seitz, A. Die Großschmetterlinge der Erde Band 13: Abt. 2, Die exotischen Großschmetterlinge, Die afrikanischen Tagfalter, 1925, 613 Seiten, 80 Tafeln (The Macrolepidoptera of the World 13).Alfred Kernen Verlag, Stuttgart.  This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ^ Kielland, J. 1990 Butterflies of Tanzania. Hill House, Melbourne and London: 1-363
  6. ^ "African Charaxes/Charaxes Africains Eric Vingerhoedt, 2013". Archived from the original on 2013-06-27.
  7. ^ Van Someren , V.G.L. 1972. Revisional notes on African Charaxes (Lepidoptera:Nymphalidae). Part VIII. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) (Entomology) 27 (4): 215-264.
  • Victor Gurney Logan Van Someren, 1972 Revisional notes on African Charaxes (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Part VIII. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) (Entomology)215-264.[3]
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