''Charaxes tiridates'', the common 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

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

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 ...

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

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 ...

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...

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 ...

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 ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

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 ...

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...

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

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 ...

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

and

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

. The habitat consists of lowland evergreen forests and dense savanna. The larvae feed on '' Phialodiscus unijugatus'', '' Hugonia platysepala'', ''

Hugonia castaneifolia ''Hugonia'' is a genus of plant in the family Linaceae. The genus was named by Linnaeus after Augustus Johann von Hugo (1686-1760) of Hannover. Species include: * '' Hugonia deplanchei'' * '' Hugonia jenkinsii'' * '' Hugonia macrophylla'' Oliv. ...

'', '' Bombax reflexum'', '' Chaetacme aristata'', ''

Celtis africana ''Celtis africana'', the white stinkwood, is a deciduous tree in the family Cannabaceae. Its habit ranges from a tall tree in forest to a medium-sized tree in bushveld and open country, and a shrub on rocky soil. It occurs in Yemen and over la ...

'', '' Celtis durandi'', '' Grewia tricocarpa'', ''

Grewia mollis ''Grewia mollis'' is a widespread species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae, native to tropical Africa, Yemen and Oman. It is the source of grewia gum, an edible polysaccharide mucilage, similar in its properties to tragacanth gum. It ...

'', ''

Afzelia africana ''Afzelia africana'', the African mahogany, afzelia, lenke, lengue, apa, or doussi, is a tree species in the family Fabaceae. Range It occurs in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, DRCongo, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Gui ...

'', ''

Flacourtia indica ''Flacourtia indica'' ( syn. ''Flacourtia ramontchi''), known commonly as ramontchi, governor's plum, Madagascar plum and Indian plum, is a species of flowering plant native to much of Africa and tropical and temperate parts of Asia. ''F. indica' ...

'', '' Indigofera macrophylla'', ''

Osyris lanceolata ''Osyris lanceolata'', also known as African sandalwood or Camwood, is used for its scented wood and to extract essential oil. The hemi-parasitic plant is found from South Africa to Zimbabwe and east Africa, including Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda ...

'', ''

Blighia unijugata ''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 ...

'', '' Grewia forbesi'', ''

Bombax buonopozense ''Bombax buonopozense'', commonly known as the Gold Coast bombax or red-flowered silk cotton tree, is a tree in the mallow family. It is also known in the Dagbani language as ''Vabga'' (plural ''Vabsi''). It is native primarily in West Africa, ...

'', ''

Albizia ''Albizia'' is a genus of more than 160 species of mostly fast-growing subtropical and tropical trees and shrubs in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae. The genus is pantropical, occurring in Asia, Africa, Madagascar, America and A ...

'', ''

Berlinia ''Berlinia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It includes 21 species of trees native to sub-Saharan Africa, ranging from Guinea to Chad, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Angola. Species of ''Berlina'' grow in the Guineo–Congol ...

'', ''

Lonchocarpus ''Lonchocarpus'' is a plant genus in the legume family (biology), family (Fabaceae). The species are called lancepods due to their fruit resembling an ornate lance tip or a few beads on a string. ''Cubé'' resin is produced from the roots of '' ...

'', ''

Hibiscus ''Hibiscus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. The genus is quite large, comprising several hundred species that are native to warm temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. Member species ...

'' (including ''

Hibiscus calyphyllus ''Hibiscus calyphyllus'' ( syn. ''Hibiscus calycinus, Hibiscus chrysantha, Hibiscus chrysanthus, Hibiscus rockii''), the lemonyellow rosemallow, is a shrub from tropical Africa belonging to the genus ''Hibiscus''."Botanica. The Illustrated AZ of ...

''), ''

Trema Trema may refer to: * a List of Greek and Latin roots in English/P–Z#T, Greek and Latin root meaning ''hole'' * ''Tréma'', a word in French meaning diaeresis ** more generally, two dots (diacritic) * Trema (plant), ''Trema'' (plant), a genus of ...

'', '' Cassia'', ''

Dalbergia ''Dalbergia'' is a large genus of small to medium-size trees, shrubs and lianas in the pea family, Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. It was recently assigned to the informal monophyletic ''Dalbergia'' clade (or tribe): the Dalbergieae. T ...

'', '' Macrolobium'', ''

Millettia ''Millettia'' is a genus of legume in the family Fabaceae. It consists of about 150 species, which are distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. The genus was formerly known by the name ''Pongamia'', but that name was r ...

'' and ''

Pterocarpus ''Pterocarpus'' is a pantropical genus of trees in the family Fabaceae. It belongs to the subfamily Faboideae, and was recently assigned to the informal monophyletic ''Pterocarpus'' clade within the Dalbergieae. Most species of ''Pterocarpus'' ...

'' species. CramerAndStoll-uitlandsche kapellen vol

Description

Male upperside forewings have a black ground colour glossed blue. There is a discal arc of five or so spots and a postdiscal sinuous line of eight to ten spots. These spots are light blue and slightly metallic. The margin has pale amorphous lunules. The hindwing has two postdiscal rows of the light blue spots, the second close to the margin which has pale more lineate lunules. There are two short tails. The female upperside has light brown basal areas, more extensive on the hindwing. There is a discal band of white marks just inside the much darker distal part of the forewing and two apical white spots. On the hindwing the dark area is narrow has seven or so light blue and slightly metallic spots with some white scales. There are pale marginal lunules and one long and one short tail. The underside wings are variously light brown with black pattern lines and in the female only a white discal band. 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 354 for terms see Volume 5:545-60

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'' *''

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 ...

'' - similar to next *''

Charaxes bipunctatus ''Charaxes bipunctatus'', the two-spot blue charaxes, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Repu ...

'' - 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 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 ...

'' *''

Charaxes barnsi ''Charaxes barnsi'' is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found on the island of Príncipe. The species was named by James John Joicey and George Talbot in 1927. ''Charaxes barnsi'' is a large butterfly with a brown ground colour and ...

'' *''

Charaxes bohemani ''Charaxes bohemani'', the large blue emperor, large blue charaxes or divebomber charaxes, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in eastern and southern Africa (Angola, Zaire, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Botswa ...

'' *'' 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

*''Charaxes tiridates tiridates'' (eastern Senegal, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, western Nigeria) *''Charaxes tiridates choveti'' Turlin, 1998 (Bioko) *''Charaxes tiridates marginatus'' Rothschild & Jordan, 1903 (western and south-western Ethiopia) *''Charaxes tiridates tiridatinus'' Röber, 1936Röber, J. 1936. Uber einige afrikanische ''Charaxes'' – Arten und andere exotische Falter. ''Entomologische Rundschau'' 53: 575-580. (Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, western and southern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, western Kenya, north-western Tanzania, Angola, northern Zambia)

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
Seitz, A. ''Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde'' 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 31

External links

Images of ''C. tiridates tiridates''

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. tiridates tiridatinus''
(Albertine Rift Project)
''Charaxes tiridates'' images
at

BOLD In typography, emphasis is the strengthening of words in a text with a font in a different style from the rest of the text, to highlight them. It is the equivalent of prosody stress in speech. Methods and use The most common methods in W ...

''Charaxes tiridates tiridates'' images
at BOLD
''Charaxes tiridates marginatus'' images
at BOLD
''Charaxes tiridates tiridatinus'' images
at BOLD {{Taxonbar, from=Q5074116 Butterflies described in 1777 tiridates Fauna of Rivers State