Charaxes blanda

Charaxes blanda
Figure 3
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Charaxes
Species:	C. blanda
Binomial name
Charaxes blanda Rothschild, 1897[1][2]

Charaxes blanda is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Kenya and Tanzania.[3]

Description

For a key to the terms used, see Glossary of entomology terms.

Ch. blanda Rothsch. In the male the wings are black above, with strong greenish blue reflection. Hindwing above beyond the middle between veins 2 and 7 with a broad (9 mm. in cellule 2), blue transverse band, gradually narrowing anteriorly, in cellule 8 represented by a small, free blue spot; on the forewing the transverse band is continued to the costal margin as a row of small blue spots; these spots are placed about 7 mm. from the distal margin and in cellules 4—6 have white centres; in addition the forewing has small, rounded blue spots in the basal part of cellules 2—6, the one in cellule 4 as usual placed at the apex of the cell. Hindwing above in cellules 2—6 (7) with bluish submarginal and marginal streaks, in cellule lc with two white-centred submarginal spots and a thick orange-yellow marginal streak. On the under surface the black discal streaks in cellules 2, 4—8 forming an almost continuous but not quite straight line, which forms the distal side of the dark transverse band; on the forewing the transverse streaks in cellules lb—4 are not joined together. female unknown. German East Africa: Mikindani.[4] A full description is also given by Walter Rothschild and Karl Jordan, 1900 Novitates Zoologicae Volume 7:287-524. [1] page 471-472 (for terms see Novitates Zoologicae Volume 5:545-601 [2])

Subspecies

• Charaxes blanda blanda (south-eastern Tanzania)
• Charaxes blanda kenyae Poulton, 1926 [5](Kenya: coast north of Mombasa)

Biology

Habitat in Kenya

The habitat consists of coastal forests.

The larvae feed on Dalbergia species and Brachystegia spiciformis.

Taxonomy

Charaxes blanda is a member of the large species group Charaxes etheocles

Realm

Afrotropical realm

References

1. Rothschild, W. 1897. On some new butterflies and moths. Novitates Zoologicae 4: 507-513.
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 2012-05-24.
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. Poulton, E.B. 1926 Mimicry in African butterflies of the genus Charaxes, with a classification of the species. III. Internationaler Entomologen-Kongress Zurich 2: 518-575

• Victor Gurney Logan Van Someren, 1970 Revisional notes on African Charaxes (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Part VI. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) (Entomology) 197-250.[3]

External links

• Charaxes blandae images at Consortium for the Barcode of Life
• African Butterfly Database Range map via search