''Charaxes cacuthis'' 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 on

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

.Afrotropical Butterflies: File H - Charaxinae - Tribe Charaxini
/ref> The habitat consists of lowland and coastal forests. Charaxes cacuthis up290209.jpg , recto Charaxes cacuthis down290209.jpg , verso

Description

A full description is 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 457-458 as

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of ''

Charaxes etesipe ''Charaxes etesipe'', the savannah charaxes or scarce forest emperor, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. Description The wingspan is for male. The females are larger, reaching . The uppersides of the forewings are blackish blue with a g ...

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

Seitz- Very similar to ''

'' In the male, however, the blue transverse band is continuous and about 8 mm. in breadth, not narrowed anteriorly; the blue spots in cellules la and lb on the forewingare about 6 mm. in breadth and joined together into a band. The female is distinguished by having the broad median band of the upper surface white on the hindwing and to vein 2 or 3 of the forewing, thence orange-yellow to the costal margin of the forewing. Madagascar. The tails of both sexes are longer than those of any other members of the etesipe group.

Life history

The larvae feed on ''

Annona senegalensis ''Annona senegalensis'', commonly known as African custard-apple, wild custard apple, wild soursop, (Mandinka language), and (Wolof language) is a species of flowering plant in the custard apple family, Annonaceae. The specific epithet, ''seneg ...

''.

Realm

Afrotropical realm The Afrotropical realm is one of Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Africa south of the Sahara Desert, the majority of the Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, southern Iran and extreme southwestern Pakistan, and the island ...

Classification

Closely related to ''

Charaxes penricei ''Charaxes penricei'', the scarce savanna charaxes, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in the Republic of the Congo, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Tanzania, Malawi and Zimbabwe. Description The origina ...

'' and ''

'' Kielland, J. 1990 ''Butterflies of Tanzania''. Hill House, Melbourne and London: 1-363 ''Charaxes cacuthis '' is a member of the

species group In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

''Charaxes etesipe''. The

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: *''

'' nominate *''

'' *''

Charaxes achaemenes ''Charaxes achaemenes'', the bushveld emperor or bush charaxes, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae found across Africa.Charaxes paradoxa ''Charaxes paradoxa'' is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found on Grande Comore. The habitat consists of forests. The larvae feed on ''Phyllanthus'' species. Taxonomy ''Charaxes paradoxa'' is a member of the species group ''Charaxe ...

'' *''Charaxes cacuthis'' *''

Charaxes bwete The rajah and pasha butterflies, also known as emperors in Africa and Australia, (genus ''Charaxes'') make up the huge type genus of the brush-footed butterfly subfamily Charaxinae, or leafwing butterflies. They belong to the tribe Charaxini, w ...

'' *''

Charaxes cristalensis The rajah and pasha butterflies, also known as emperors in Africa and Australia, (genus ''Charaxes'') make up the huge type genus of the brush-footed butterfly subfamily Charaxinae, or leafwing butterflies. They belong to the tribe Charaxini, w ...

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 ...

(1966). Revisional notes on African ''Charaxes'' (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Part III. ''Bulletin of the British Museum'' (Natural History) (Entomology)45-10

External links

''Charaxes cacuthis'' 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 1863 cacuthis Endemic fauna of Madagascar Butterflies of Africa Taxa named by William Chapman Hewitson {{Charaxinae-stub