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 greenish tint. The outer margin are generally denticulate (tooth like), with a series of white discal spots. In the hindwings of both sexes there are short tails and a complete series of large pale blue patches. The undersides of the wings are variegated with cream and drab colours.
A full description is given by Rothschild, W. And Jordan, K., 1900 ''Novitates Zoologicae'' Volume 7:455-45

page 428-429 (for terms see ''Novitates Zoologicae'' Volume 5:545-601


Seitz-The transverse band on the upperside of the hindwing in the male is blue and placed beyond
the middle of the wing, in the female it is at least partly white and placed about at the middle. — ''etesipe'' Godt. male The transverse band of the forewing is narrow, entirely broken up into spots, only those in cellules la, lb and 2 are blue, the others white, and placed near the distal margin; white spots are also present in the basal part of cellules 2—6 and at the apex of the cell; the median band on the upperside of the hindwing is only 2–3 mm. in breadth and is also broken up into spots. Female- The transverse band on the upper surface is broad and white, the markings at the distal margin of the hindwing indistinct. Sierra Leone to Angola and Unyoro. — ''abyssinicus'' Rothsch. differs from the type-form in having the blue transverse
band of the hindwing in the male continuous and about 5 mm. in breadth; the blue spot in cellules la and lb on the upperside of the forewing are also larger than in ''etesipe'' ; the female is unknown. Abyssinia. — ''tavetensis'' Rothsch. Male : he blue transverse band on the upperside of the hindwing is posteriorly continuous and very broad (7—8mm. in breadth in cellule 2), but anteriorly much narrowed and broken up into spots; the blue spots in cellules la and 1 b of the forewing are larger than in ''etesipe'', but smaller than in ''abyssinicus''.
The female is very similar to that of typical ''etesipe'', but somewhat smaller and with more distinct markings at the distal margin of the hindwing above. East Africa from Nyassaland to Taveta in British East Africa.

Biology

Adults are on wing from August to October and from March to June. There are two generations per year.

The larvae of subspecies ''tavetensis'' feed on ''Afzelia quanzensis'', ''Dalbergia nitidula'', '' Securidaca longipeduncularis'' and ''Margaritaria discoidea''. Other subspecies have been recorded on ''Entada'' and ''Afzelia quanzensis''.

Notes on the biology of ''etesipe'' are given by Kielland, J. (1990) and Larsen, T.B. (2005)

Distribution

This species can be found in tropical east and west Africa and in Madagascar in a mosaic of habitats but mainly in Afrotropical forest.

Taxonomy

Kielland regards to be closely related to ''Charaxes penricei'' and ''Charaxes cacuthis''
and considers ''tavetensis'' as a species distinct from ''etesipe'' and regards ''pemba'' and ''shaba'' as subspecies of ''tavetensis'' .
''Charaxes etesipe'' is a member of the species group ''Charaxes etesipe''

The clade members are:
*''Charaxes etesipe'' nominate
*''Charaxes penricei''
*''Charaxes achaemenes''
*''Charaxes cacuthis''
*''Charaxes bwete''
*''Charaxes cristalensis''

Subspecies

*''C. e. etesipe'' (Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Nigeria, southern Chad, Cameroon, southern Sudan, northern Angola, Uganda, northern Kenya)
*''C. e. abyssinicus'' Rothschild & Jordan, 1900 (Ethiopia (west of Rift)
*''C. e. gordoni'' van Someren, 1935 (Kenya (north-eastern side of Mount Kenya))
*''C. e. hercules'' Turlin & Lequeux, 2002 (Uganda)
*''C. e. patrizii'' Storace, 1949 (Somalia)
*''C. e. pemba'' van Someren, 1966 . (Pemba Island)
*''C. e. shaba'' Berger, 1981 (Zaire (Shaba))
*''C. e. tavetensis'' Rothschild, 1894Rothschild, W. 1894. Some new species of Lepidoptera. ''Novitates Zoologicae'' 1: 535-540. (Malawi, Mozambique, coast of Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa) perhaps a species

Subspecies gallery

File:Nymphalidae - Charaxes etesipe.JPG, ''C. e. abyssinicus'' from Ethiopia
File:Charaxes etesipe recto.jpg, ''C. e. etesipe'' from Cameroon - dorsal view
File:Charaxes etesipe verso.jpg, ''C. e. etesipe'' from Cameroon - ventral view

References

*Victor Gurney Logan Van Someren (1966). Revisional notes on African ''Charaxes'' (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Part III. ''Bulletin of the British Museum'' (Natural History) (Entomology) 45–10

External links

Pteron World

"''Charaxes etesipe'' (Godart, 1824)"
''Insecta.pro''.
''Charaxes etesipe'' images
subspecies and forma at Consortium for the Barcode of Life.
''Charaxes tavetensis'' images
at BOLD
''Charaxes tavetensis tavetensis'' images
at BOLD (verso)
''Charaxes tavetensis pemba'' images
at BOLD
Images of ''C. etesipe etesipe''
Royal Museum for Central Africa (Albertine Rift Project)
Images of ''C. etesipe gordoni''
(Albertine Rift Project)
Images of ''C. etesipe shaba''
(Albertine Rift Project)
Images of ''C. etesipe tavetensis''
(Albertine Rift Project)

{{Taxonbar , from=Q2957634

Butterflies described in 1824
etesipe