Charaxes Pelias
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''Charaxes pelias'', the protea emperor or protea charaxes, is a
butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...
of 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 ...
, and is
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to the Cape Provinces in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
.
Victor Gurney Logan Van Someren Victor Gurney Logan Van Someren (1886 in Melbourne – 24 July 1976) was a zoologist and entomologist. Van Someren was born in Australia. He attended George Watson's College and studied zoology at University of Edinburgh. He was also a dentis ...
, 1963 Revisional notes on African ''Charaxes'' (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Part I. ''Bulletin of the British Museum'' (Natural History) (Entomology) 205-207

/ref>"''Charaxes'' Ochsenheimer, 1816"
at Markku Savela's ''Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms''


Description

The
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 ...
is 60–70 mm in males and 65–75 mm in females. The hindwings each bear two tails, the upper tail considerably shorter than the lower. The hindwing typically exhibits four submarginal blue spots, increasing in size toward the anal angle. The forewing orange-yellow postdiscal band is separated into two from the costa to at least half-way down the wing. The underside mosaic pattern of jumbled blackish-brown bands with dark grey and grey-brown patches edged with silvery-white filigree, gives the underside a distinctly silvery grey impression. Seitz- ''Ch. pelias'' has almost the same markings as '' Charaxes castor'' , but is smaller and much lighter, the basal part of the upper surface being dark red-brown and the light-bordered markings of the under surface centred with grey; the discal band of the upper surface is orange-yellow and the orange-yellow marginal spots of the forewing are large and distinct. The discal band of the under surface is white and distally bordered on the fore wing by triangular orange-yellow spots, on the hindwing by deep red-brown ones; the ground-colour of the basal part beneath is red-brown. — ''pelias'' Cr.The black spots which adorn the discal band on the upperside of the forewing in cellules 2—7 are as large as, or larger than the triangular orange-yellow spots which they separate; the black marginal line of the hindwing very thick; on the underside of the hindwing the red-brown spots at the distal side of the white discal band are very small, much narrower than the band. Cape Colony, in the mountainous western parts. The larva probably on ''Protea grandiflora'', the "Wagenboom".In ''saturnus'' Btlr. ow full species ''Charaxes saturnus''">Charaxes_saturnus.html" ;"title="ow full species ''Charaxes saturnus">ow full species ''Charaxes saturnus''the black spots in the discal band of the forewing are smaller than the orange-yellow spots which they border proximally; the black marginal line of the hindwing much thinner than in the type-form ; on the underside of the hindwing the red-brown spots are large and at least as broad as the band; the marginal spots on the upper surface are sometimes little larger than in the type-form, sometimes very large, From Natal to the Congo and British East Africa. — ab. ''laticinctus'' (''brunnescens'' Rothsch.) has the basal part of the upper surface brown-black, the discal band darker orange-yellow than in ''saturnus'' and the marginal spots small and brown. North Angola. Van Son - Superficially resembles ''
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 ...
'' Butler, from which it differs in the following characters: smaller size; orange-yellow markings of upperside lighter; hindwing discal band broader posteriorly, not triangular, and extending to vein Cu2; forewing underside with orange markings much reduced, transverse red-brown markings of basal areas and spots of same colour beyond hindwing discal band much darker, and those in anal area obsolete; tails on hindwing much shorter; antenna/wing ratio higher; numerous differences in genitalia, early stages and larval food plants .


Biology

The habitat is
Fynbos Fynbos (; , ) is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. The area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean climate. The fynbos ...
(Cape Macchia) in montane areas. It has successive broods from September to April. Notes on the biology of ''pelias'' are given by Pringle et al (1994) Pringle et al , 1994. ''Pennington’s Butterflies of Southern Africa'', 2nd edition


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 clade 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"Out of Africa again: A phylogenetic hypothesis of the genus ''Charaxes (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)'' based on five gene regions"
. Aduse-Poku, Vingerhoedt, Wahlberg. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution (2009) 53;463–478
and are considered as the ''jasius'' subgroup. The ''jasius'' Group (26 Species) Clade 1: ''jasius'' subgroup (7 species): *''
Charaxes jasius ''Charaxes jasius'', the two-tailed pasha, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is the only European species of the genus ''Charaxes''. Divergence of the Mediterranean species ''C. jasius'' from the last common ancestor with its closest r ...
'' *'' 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 well-populated three additional subgroups (19 species) of the jasius Group, called the ''brutus'', ''pollux'', and ''eudoxus'' subgroups. Further exploration of the phylogenetic relationships amongst existing ''Charaxes'' taxa is required to improve clarity.


Natural History

Full description of the early stages, from egg-laying, larval instars, to pupal emergence, and the flight behaviour of ''C. pelias'', were described by C. G. C.Dickson (1949)Dickson, C.G.C. (1949). The life-history of Charaxes pelias pelias Cram. (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). J. Ent. Soc. S. Africa. Vol. XII. 30 September 1949
pp.109-117
The
larvae A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect developmental biology, development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typical ...
feed on
Hypocalyptus sophoroides
', ''
Osyris compressa '' Osyris compressa'' (Cape sumach or ''pruimbos'') is a facultatively hemiparasitic, mainly South African plant of the sandalwood family, Santalaceae. Until recently, the favoured binomial name was ''Colpoon compressum'', but around 2001, the ...
'', ''
Osyris lanceolata ''Osyris lanceolata'', also known as African sandalwood, watta bush or Camwood, is used for its scented wood and to extract essential oil. The semi-parasitic plant is found from South Africa to Zimbabwe and east Africa, including Tanzania, Keny ...
'', and '' Rafnia'' species. The
imago In biology, the imago (Latin for "image") is the last stage an insect attains during its metamorphosis, its process of growth and development; it is also called the ''imaginal'' stage ("imaginal" being "imago" in adjective form), the stage in wh ...
flies from October to April.


References


External links


''Charaxes pelias'' images
at
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 ...
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1592233 Butterflies described in 1775
pelias Pelias ( ; Ancient Greek: Πελίας) was king of Iolcus in Greek mythology. He was the one who sent Jason on the quest for the Golden Fleece. Family Pelias was the son of Tyro and Poseidon. His wife is recorded as either Anaxibia, ...
Endemic butterflies of South Africa Taxa named by Pieter Cramer