''Charaxes bipunctatus'', the two-spot blue charaxes, is a

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

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 have a red ...

. It is found in

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

, the

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...

, the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

, the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

and

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

.Afrotropical Butterflies: File H - Charaxinae - Tribe Charaxini
/ref> A local and uncommon butterfly.

Description

''Ch. bipunctatus'' Rothsch. is another close ally of '' tiridates'', distinguished chiefly by the very short, tooth- like tails of the hindwing. Both sexes above coloured and marked like those of ''tiridates'' ; the blue spots, however, in the male in part indistinct or absent and the marginal streaks of the hindwing thick, ochre-yellow and not interrupted. Ashanti to Aruwimi. A full description is also given by

Walter Rothschild Lionel Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild, Baron de Rothschild, (8 February 1868 – 27 August 1937) was a British banker, politician, zoologist and soldier, who was a member of the Rothschild family. As a Zionist leader, he was present ...

and Karl Jordan, 1900 ''Novitates Zoologicae'' volume 7:287-524

page 390 (for terms see ''Novitates Zoologicae'' volume 5:545-60

Differs from '' Charaxes tiridates'' and ''

Charaxes numenes ''Charaxes numenes'', the lesser blue charaxes, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Benin, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic o ...

'' in that there are only two hindwing postdiscal spots (in spaces 5 and 6) and in the continuous yellowish distal margin

Biology

The habitat consists of lowland evergreen forests and sub-montane forests at altitudes between 1,200 and 1,500 meters. The larvae feed on ''

Blighia ''Blighia'' is a genus of four species of flowering plants in the soapberry family, Sapindaceae, native to tropical Africa from Guinea east to Kenya. The fruit is partly edible, with the Ackee (''B. sapida'') being grown commercially for fruit p ...

unijugata''.

Taxonomy

'' Charaxes tiridates'' group The supposed

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

members are: *'' Charaxes tiridates'' *''

'' similar to next *''Charaxes bipunctatus'' similar to last *'' Charaxes violetta'' *'' Charaxes fuscus'' *'' Charaxes mixtus'' *''

Charaxes bubastis ''Charaxes mixtus'' is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania. Description ''Ch. mixtus'' Rothsch. The ma ...

'' *'' Charaxes albimaculatus'' *'' Charaxes barnsi'' *'' Charaxes bohemani'' *'' Charaxes schoutedeni'' *''

Charaxes monteiri ''Charaxes monteiri'' is a rare tropical butterfly of the family Nymphalidae, belonging to the Charaxinae subfamily or leafwing butterflies. It was described by Otto Staudinger in 1885. Description ''Charaxes monteiri'' presents an important sex ...

'' *''

Charaxes smaragdalis ''Charaxes smaragdalis'', the western blue charaxes, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found from Senegal to Somalia, from Angola to Kenya and from Sudan to Egypt. The butterfly's wingspan is 85 to 100 mm. Adults are black wi ...

'' *''

Charaxes xiphares ''Charaxes xiphares'', the forest king emperor or forest king charaxes, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is native to Afromontane forest in the eastern and southern Afrotropical realm. Description The wingspan is 65–80 mm fo ...

'' *''

Charaxes cithaeron ''Charaxes cithaeron'', the blue-spotted emperor or blue-spotted charaxes, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in south-east Africa.Charaxes nandina ''Charaxes nandina'' is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Kenya, in the central highlands east of the Rift Valley. Description ''Ch. nandina'' Rothsch. : forewing above black, behind the middle of the hindmargin with an oblon ...

'' *''

Charaxes imperialis ''Charaxes imperialis'', the imperial blue charaxes, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, the Republic of the Congo ...

'' *''

Charaxes ameliae ''Charaxes ameliae'', the blue-spotted charaxes, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, ...

'' *''

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 Democrati ...

'' *? ''

Charaxes overlaeti ''Charaxes overlaeti'' is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Kenya. Taxonomy Known only from the holotype and a similar specimen captured in Kenya. ''Charaxes overlaeti'' may be a hybr ...

'' For a full list see Eric Vingerhoedt, 2013

Subspecies

*''C. b. bipunctatus'' (Ivory Coast, Ghana, western Nigeria) *''C. b. ugandensis'' van Someren, 1972Van Someren , V.G.L. 1972. Revisional notes on African ''Charaxes'' (Lepidoptera:Nymphalidae). Part VIII. ''Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History)'' (Entomology) 27 (4): 215-264. (Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, western Uganda, western Kenya, southern Sudan, north-western Tanzania)

References

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 dentist ...

, 1972 Revisional notes on African ''Charaxes'' (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Part VIII. ''Bulletin of the British Museum'' (Natural History) (Entomology)215-26

External links

Images of ''C. b. bipunctatus ''

Royal Museum for Central Africa The Royal Museum for Central Africa or RMCA ( nl, Koninklijk Museum voor Midden-Afrika or KMMA; french: Musée royal de l'Afrique centrale or MRAC; german: Königliches Museum für Zentralafrika or KMZA), also officially known as the AfricaMuse ...

(Albertine Rift Project)
Images of '' C. b. ugandensis ''
Royal Museum for Central Africa (Albertine Rift Project)
''C. b. ugandensis'' 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 ...

African Butterfly Database
Range map via search Butterflies described in 1894 bipunctatus Butterflies of Africa {{Charaxinae-stub

Description

Biology

Taxonomy

Subspecies

See also

References

External links