''Charaxes jasius'', the two-tailed pasha, is a butterfly in the family
Nymphalidae
The Nymphalidae are the largest family of butterflies, with more than 6,000 species distributed throughout most of the world. Belonging to the superfamily Papilionoidea, they are usually medium-sized to large butterflies. Most species ha ...
. It is the only European species of the genus ''
Charaxes
The rajah and pasha butterflies, also known as emperors in Africa and Australia, (genus ''Charaxes'') make up the huge type genus of the Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterfly subfamily Charaxinae, or leafwing butterflies. They belong to the tribe ...
''. Divergence of the Mediterranean species ''C. jasius'' from the last common ancestor with its closest related species still flying in the
Afrotropical realm
The Afrotropical realm is one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Sub-Saharan Africa, the southern Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, and the islands of the western Indian Ocean. It was formerly known as the Ethiopi ...
most probably occurred around 2 mya, i.e. during the
''Charaxes jasius'' is a medium to large butterfly with a
wingspan
The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...
reaching 76–83 mm in males, the female being larger. Males up to 80–100 mm
wingspan
The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...
, with females even larger, may be found in Morocco. Each hindwing bears two tails, characteristic of most species of the genus. The spring seasonal brood is smaller in size compared with the second and sometimes third broods, and the two tails on each hindwing tend to curve somewhat towards each other resembling a pincer, less so in the later broods with slightly longer straighter tails. The upperside ground colour of the wings is dark brownish-black, with some changeable purplish sheen viewed at varying angles; forewing with suggestion of darker discal bars, postdiscal spots orange; hindwing with whitish patch near costal border, dusted with brownish scales; outer border of both wings deep orange-ochreous, divided by black-scaled veins. Hindwing with small submarginal blue spots, often vestigial; more developed in the female. There is some variation in the intensity of the ground colour, and in development of the postdiscal orange spots. The underside has a very characteristic mosaic appearance broadly similar to a number of related species, traversed by a jumble of bands and of brown, reddish, greyish and blackish patches, all edged with a filigree of white. Beyond the inner mosaic, a white complete discal band bridges across fore- to hindwings. The outer orange marginal coloration is present on the underside also. The female resembles the male but is larger.
File:Charaxes jasius MHNT CUT 2013 3 12 male Roquebrun 34 Dorsal.jpg, alt=C. jasius. Roquebrun, France. Male Upperside, ''C. jasius''. Roquebrun, France. Male Upperside
File:Charaxes jasius MHNT CUT 2013 3 12 male Roquebrun 34 Ventral.jpg, alt=C. jasius. Roquebrun, France. Male Underside, ''C. jasius''. Roquebrun, France. Male Underside
Type
This butterfly is the
type species
In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...
of the genus ''
Charaxes
The rajah and pasha butterflies, also known as emperors in Africa and Australia, (genus ''Charaxes'') make up the huge type genus of the Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterfly subfamily Charaxinae, or leafwing butterflies. They belong to the tribe ...
''. Pg. 220 "Recognising this fact, Ochsenheimer (1816, Schmett. Europa, vol. 4) removed Papilio jasius from Paphia, and placed it instead in his own genus Charaxes, thus making P. jasius the type-species of the latter by monotypy." The type location is Barbaria,
Algeria
Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
.
Subspecies
*''C. jasius'' is a stable species with no currently recognised subspecies. It is found in Southern Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean, and North Africa.
Related species
Historical attempts to assemble a cluster of presumably related species into a "''Charaxes jasius'' Group" have not been wholly convincing. More recent taxonomic revision, corroborated by phylogenetic research, allow a more rational grouping congruent with cladistic relationships. Within a well-populated
clade
In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...
of 27 related species sharing a common ancestor approximately 16 mya during the
Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...
, 26 are now considered together as the ''jasius'' Group. One of the two lineages forms a robust
monophyletic
In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria:
# the grouping contains its own most recent co ...
group of seven species sharing a common ancestor approximately 2–3 mya, i.e. during the
Pliocene
The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58 and are considered as the ''jasius'' subgroup. The second lineage leads to 19 other species within the Jasius group, which are split into three well-populated subgroups of closely related species.
The ''jasius'' Group (26 Species).
Clade 1: the ''jasius'' subgroup (7 species):
*''Charaxes jasius''
*'' Charaxes epijasius'' tat.rev.2005ref name="Turlin 2005"/>
*'' Charaxes legeri''
*''
Charaxes saturnus
''Charaxes saturnus'', the foxy charaxes or koppie charaxes, is a butterfly that flies through most of the Savannah of the Eastern and Southern Afrotropical realm, and also occurs in suitable forest habitat locations including the forest belt of ...
'' tat.rev.2005ref name="Turlin 2005"/>
*'' Charaxes pelias''
*'' Charaxes castor''
*'' Charaxes hansali''
Clade 2: contains the three well-populated additional subgroups (19 species) of the jasius Group:
*the ''brutus'' subgroup (4 species):
*''
Charaxes brutus
__NOTOC__
''Charaxes brutus'', the white-barred emperor or white-barred Charaxes, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Africa (see subspecies section for detailed information).
Its flight period is year-round. Notes on the ...
Charaxes musakensis
''Charaxes musakensis'' is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Cameroon. The habitat consists of Afromontane, montane forests at altitudes above 1,300 meters. Taxonomy
Known only from the Type (biology), type locality Musake Hut ...
This species occurs along the European Mediterranean coast from west
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
to the coastal islands of
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
(except for the northern
Adriatic sea
The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...
coast), from the central and south peninsula of
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
to
Istria
Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at th ...
, and the coastline of southern
Anatolia
Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
including
Samos
Samos (, also ; , ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese archipelago, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the Mycale Strait. It is also a separate reg ...
,
Ikaria
Ikaria, also spelled Icaria (; ), is a Greece, Greek island in the Aegean Sea, 10 nautical miles (19 km) southwest of Samos.
Administratively, Ikaria forms a separate municipality within the Ikaria (regional unit), Ikaria regional unit, ...
and
Rhodes
Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...
. Its range includes the
Balearic Islands
The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago forms a Provinces of Spain, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain, ...
,
Corsica
Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...
,
Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...
,
Corfu
Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...
and
Crete
Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...
. Inland, the butterfly is found in locally in
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
from
Huelva
Huelva ( , , ) is a municipality of Spain and the capital of the Huelva (province), province of Huelva, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. Located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula, it sits betwee ...
and
Málaga
Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...
to
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
and
Salamanca
Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...
. In
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, the butterfly is found isolated inland from
Provence
Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...
to
Lozère
Lozère (; ) is a landlocked Departments of France, department in the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie in Southern France, located near the Massif Central, bounded to the northeast by Haute-Loire, to the ...
,
Ardèche
Ardèche (; , ; ) is a Departments of France, department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche (river), Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.Aveyron
Aveyron (; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France. It was named after the river Aveyron (river), Aveyron. Its inhabitants are known as ''Aveyro ...
. Further around the Eastern Mediterranean coast, it occurs in
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
,
Lebanon
Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
,
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
, and continues along much of North African coast to the Atlantic Moroccan NW coast as far as coastal
Tiznit
Tiznit or Tiznet (, ) is a town in the west coast of the Moroccan region of Souss-Massa, founded in 1881 by Alawi Sultan Hassan I. It is the capital of Tiznit Province and recorded a population of 74,699 in the 2014 Moroccan census.
Internati ...
environs, venturing inland in a very few Moroccan locations as high as 2,400m asl.
Habitat
Its typical habitat around the Mediterranean Basin is the
Maquis shrubland
220px, Low maquis in Corsica
220px, High ''macchia'' in Sardinia
( , , ) or ( , ; often in Italian; , ; ; ; ) is a savanna-like shrubland biome in the Mediterranean region, typically consisting of densely growing evergreen shrubs.
Maquis ...
, up to 700–800 meters above sea level. This comprises thick, mixed scrub forests, often on hillsides, in hot and dry regions. The butterfly is found wherever its larval host plants are abundantly available.
Natural history
The two-tailed pasha is a fast-flying butterfly that displays territorial behaviour. The butterfly also is a noted for hill-topping. The adults of both sexes are attracted to fermenting fruits; they are attracted to the ethanol contained therein, and can be baited with wine and other alcoholic beverages.
Life cycle
''Charaxes jasius'' is bivoltine or trivoltine, i.e. it has two or three generations per year depending on latitude and altitude.
Typically, the first batch of eggs are laid in May–June and the second in mid August–mid October. The second batch caterpillars spend the winter in the larval stage, and pupate the next spring. The female lays the eggs on the upper surface of the leaves of the host plant, laying no more than one egg per leaf.
The caterpillar is green, cylindrical and up to long. It has rings of yellow-white raised spots on the body, yellow lateral lines along the sides, and two yellow ocelli on the back. The head bears four horns facing backwards. The caterpillar makes a leaf tent from silken threads, to which it returns after feeding on surrounding leaves.
When the caterpillar is fully matured, it hangs on a twig and pupates. The pupa resembles a ripening fruit as it is first green and becomes brown as the imago develops inside. After a period that can range from two weeks to one month, the pupal case opens letting out the adult butterfly.
File:Egg of Charaxes jasius - Two-tailed Pasha.jpg, Egg
File:Charaxes jasius larva.jpg, Larva
File:Charaxes jasius pupa.jpg, Newly formed pupa
File:Pupa_of_Charaxes_jasius_just_before_hatching.jpg, Pupa ready for hatching
File:Charaxes jasius bl1.jpg, Adult
Larval food plants
The preferred larval foodplant is the Strawberry Tree (''
Arbutus unedo
''Arbutus unedo'', commonly known as strawberry tree, also called madrone, is an evergreen shrub or small tree in the family Ericaceae, native to the Mediterranean Basin and Western Europe. The tree is well known for its fruits, the arbutus berr ...
''), although secondary or perhaps accidental choices are known to include a few '' Osyris'' species.
Consortium for the Barcode of Life
The Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL) was an international initiative dedicated to supporting the development of DNA barcoding as a global standard for species identification. CBOL's Secretariat Office is hosted by the National Museum of ...
Royal Museum for Central Africa
The Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA) (; ; ), communicating under the name AfricaMuseum since 2018, is an ethnography and natural history museum situated in Tervuren in Flemish Brabant, Belgium, just outside Brussels. It was originally b ...