Charaxes castor
Charaxes castor, the giant emperor or giant charaxes, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found throughout the Afrotropical realm below the Sahel.
The wingspan is 75–85 mm in males and 85–105 mm in females. The flight period is year-round but more common in late summer to autumn.Description
A full description is given by Walter Rothschild and Karl Jordan, 1900 Novitates Zoologicae Volume 7:287-524. page 436 et seq.Larvae feed on Bridelia micrantha, Afzelia quanzensis, Tragia spp., Gymnosporia spp., Maytenus senegalensis, Schotia brachypetala, Bridelia micrantha and Cassia fistula.Subspecies
Listed alphabetically.
- C. c. arthuri van Someren, 1971
- C. c. castor
- C. c. comoranus Rothschild, 1903
- C. c. flavifasciatus Butler, 1895
Taxonomy
The members of the Charaxes jasius group are:
- Charaxes jasius
- Charaxes pelias – smaller than jasius
- Charaxes hansali
- Charaxes castor
- Charaxes brutus – dark with white bands
- Charaxes andara – Madagascar
- Charaxes ansorgei
- Charaxes phoebus
- Charaxes pollux
- Charaxes druceanus
- Charaxes phraortes – Madagascar, close to next
- Charaxes andranodorus – close to last
- Charaxes eudoxus
- Charaxes richelmanni
