Charaxes Pythodoris

''Charaxes pythodoris'', the powder-blue charaxes, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi and Zambia.Afrotropical Butterflies: File H - Charaxinae - Tribe Charaxini
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Description

''Ch. pythodoris''. Distal margin of the hindwing uniformly rounded without tail-appendages, but shortly dentate at the extremities of the veins. Abdomen white above. Both wings above black (only the fore wing at the base of the costal margin brownish) with broad blue and white transverse band, which on the hindwing almost reaches the base, but is distally irregularly dentate and only extends a little beyond the apex of the cell. The transverse band of the forewing is similar to that of '' smaragdalis'' but begins at the middle of the hindmargin, forms large spots in la and lb and is then broken up into two spots each in cellules 2-—7. the
distal ones blue and the proximal nearly white; the proximal spot in cellule 4 is placed much nearer to the base than the rest; forewing without marginal spots; hindwing with a row of small white or bluish submarginal dots, but its marginal spots indistinct or absent. Under surface almost uniform yellow-brown with fine black transverse streaks. — ''pythodoris'' Hew. has the black marginal band on the upperside of the hindwing narrower about 10mm. in breadth at vein 6; the blue transverse band of the forewing always undivided in cellules la and lb. Angola and the southern part of the Congo region. — In ''nesaea'' Smith the black marginal band on the upperside of the hindwing is broader, about 14 mm. in breadth at vein 6; the blue spot in cellule lb of the
forewing usually more or less divided into two spots. German and British East Africa. — Both forms are very rare.

Biology

The habitat consists of drier forests, riparian forests, heavy savanna and light arid savanna (where forest-crowned hills or thickets occur).

The larvae feed on ''Craibia brownii'', ''Craibia laurentii'', '' Craibia brevicaudata'' and ''Craibia affinis''.
Notes on the biology of ''pythodoris'' are given by Kielland (1990) and Larsen (1991).

Taxonomy

'' Charaxes tiridates'' group.

The supposed clade members are:
*'' Charaxes tiridates''
*'' Charaxes numenes'' - similar to next
*'' Charaxes bipunctatus'' - similar to last
*''Charaxes violetta''
*''Charaxes mixtus''
*'' Charaxes bubastis''
*'' Charaxes albimaculatus''
*'' Charaxes barnsi''
*'' Charaxes bohemani''
*'' Charaxes schoutedeni''
*'' Charaxes monteiri''
*'' Charaxes smaragdalis''
*''Charaxes xiphares''
*'' Charaxes cithaeron''
*'' Charaxes nandina''
*'' Charaxes imperialis''
*'' Charaxes ameliae''
*''Charaxes pythodoris''
*? '' Charaxes overlaeti''
For a full list see Eric Vingerhoedt, 2013.

Subspecies

*''C. p. pythodoris'' (Angola, north-western Zambia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, southern Ethiopia, Uganda, western Kenya, north-western Tanzania)
*''C. p. davidi'' Plantrou, 1973 (Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Ghana)
*''C. p. knoopae'' Plantrou, 1982 (western Nigeria)
*''C. p. nesaea'' Grose-Smith, 1889 (coast of Kenya, north-eastern Tanzania) rare
*''C. p. occidens'' van Someren, 1963 (Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Central African Republic)
*''C. p. pallida'' van Someren, 1963 (central Tanzania)
*''C. p. sumbuensis'' Henning, 1982 (Zambia: southern Lake Tanganyika)
*''C. p. ventersi'' Henning, 1982Henning, S.F. 1982 Description and biology of two new subspecies of ''Charaxes pythodoris''
Hewitson (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae). ''Miscellanea Entomologica'' 49: 75-82. (Malawi: gorges and valleys down the sides of the Zomba Plateau)

References

*Victor Gurney Logan Van Someren, 1963 Revisional notes on African ''Charaxes'' (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Part I. ''Bulletin of the British Museum'' (Natural History) (Entomology) 195–242

*Van Someren, 1969 Revisional notes on African ''Charaxes'' (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Part V. ''Bulletin of the British Museum'' (Natural History) (Entomology)75-16

Additional notes

External links

Images of ''C. p. knoopae''
Royal Museum for Central Africa (Albertine Rift Project)
Images of ''C. p. pythodoris''
(Albertine Rift Project)
''Charaxes pythodoris'' images
at Consortium for the Barcode of Life
''C. p. pythodoris'' images
at BOLD
''C. p. nesaea'' images
at BOLD

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5074101

Butterflies described in 1873
pythodoris
Butterflies of Africa
Taxa named by William Chapman Hewitson