Butterflies of
Africa
Cream-banded
Charaxes
Charaxes hansalii
FELDER, 1867
Family - NYMPHALIDAE
subfamily -
CHARAXINAE
Tribe - CHARAXINI
Charaxes hansalii,
Arba Minch, Ethiopia
©
Peter Bruce-Jones
Introduction
The Charaxinae are a
group of robust, medium to large Nymphalids characterised by having a rapid and
powerful flight, stout bodies, triangular forewings, and a habit of feeding
at dung and carrion.
They
are represented in Africa by Charaxes, Palla
and Euxanthe.
Charaxes includes 179 African species, one of which,
C. jasius,
extends it's range as far north as the Mediterranean coast of Europe. Most are
forest-dwellers, but several are adapted to savannah and
Acacia scrub habitats.
Charaxes
hansalii is found in southern Arabia; and in eastern Africa from s.e.
Egypt and Ethiopia to northern Tanzania.
Habitats
This species inhabits dry savannah, thorn scrub, steppe and semi-desert environments, at
altitudes between sea level and at least 2000m.
Lifecycle
The larval foodplants are
Salvadora, Dobera ( Salvadoraceae ),
Osyris & Colpoon (
Santalaceae ).
Adult behaviour
Males have been observed hill-topping
more than 1000m above their breeding sites, and females are known
to travel long distances from their emergence sites
( Larsen ). This migratory
behaviour allows the species to survive the droughts which can
temporarily eliminate their larval foodplants.
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