Charaxes jasius

Charaxes jasius
Dorsal view
Ventral view
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Charaxes
Species:	C. jasius
Binomial name
Charaxes jasius (Linnaeus, 1767)
Synonyms
Papilio jasius Linnaeus, 1767 Papilio jason Linnaeus, 1767 Charaxes pelias brunnescens Poulton, 1926 Charaxes pelias saturnus ab. brunnescens Rothschild, 1900 Charaxes epijasius Reiche, 1850 Charaxes epijasius maculatus Suffert, 1904 Charaxes epijasius f. murina Le Cerf, 1923 Charaxes epijasius f. feisthameli Le Cerf, 1923 Charaxes pelias liberiae Le Cerf, 1923 Charaxes jasius epijasius f. aeson Stoneham, 1960 Charaxes jasius epijasius f. plutus Stoneham, 1960 Charaxes jasius epijasius f. alcimede Stoneham, 1960 Charaxes jasius epijasius var. melas van Someren, 1963 Charaxes jasius epijasius f. aesonius Stoneham, 1964 Charaxes harrisoni Sharpe, 1904 Charaxes jasius harrisoni f. saturnalis van Someren, 1963 Charaxes pelias pagenstecheri Poulton, 1926 Charaxes saturnus ab. pagenstecheri Schultze, 1913 Charaxes castor var. flavicinctus Butler, 1895

Charaxes jasius, the two-tailed pasha or foxy emperor, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is the only European species of the genus Charaxes.

Charaxes jasius is a medium to large butterfly with a wingspan reaching 65–75 mm in males and 75–90 mm in females. The uppersides of the wings are dark brown with orange margins. The hindwings bring two short tails, characteristic of most species of the genus. Close to these tails there are a few blue markings. The underside of the wings is reddish brown with numerous darker bands edged with white or gray. The orange marginal band is also present on the undersides of the wings and it is preceded by a white transversal band. The caterpillar is green, cylindrical and has two yellow ocelli on the back. The head bears four horns facing backwards.

The adults prefer ripe fruits, of which they suck the sugary liquids. The larvae feed on a wide range of plants, including Afzelia quanzensis, Annona (including Annona cherimola), Arbutus unedo, Bauhinia (including Bauhinia galpinii and Bauhinia petersiana), Berlinia, Brachystegia (including Brachystegia edulis and Brachystegia spiciformis), Burkea africana, Cassia, Cassine, Catha edulis, Celtis africana, Colophospermum mopane, Copaifera baumiana, Croton, Daniella oliveri, Guibourtia conjugata, Gymnosporia (including Gymnosporia senegalensis), Hibiscus, Isoberlina, Julbernardia globiflora, Khaya senegalensis, Laurus nobilis, Lonchocarpus cyanescens, Lonchocarpus sericeus, Maytenus, Osyris lanceolata, Pleurostylia africana, Protea, Prunus persica, Pseudocedrala, Schotia brachypetala, Sorghum (including Sorghum roxburghii), Vaccinium corymbosum, Xanthocercis zambesiaca and Xeroderris stuhlmannii.

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