Charaxes acuminatus

Charaxes acuminatus, the pointed pearl charaxes or mountain pearl charaxes, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe.[2] The habitat consists of montane forests mostly at altitudes above 1,800 meters.

Pointed pearl charaxes
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Charaxes
Species:
C. acuminatus
Binomial name
Charaxes acuminatus
Thurau, 1903[1]

Both sexes are attracted to fermenting fruit and sometimes also sap oozing from wounds in the trunks and branches of trees and shrubs. Males are also attracted to damp patches. Adults are on wing from September to June.

The larvae feed on Allophylus species (including A. alnifolius, A. chirindensis, A. abyssinicus, A. chaunostachys and A. africanus) and Bersama abyssinica.

Taxonomy

Charaxes varanes group. Subgenus Stonehamia (Hadrodontes) The group members are:

Subspecies
  • C. a. acuminatus (Tanzania, northern Malawi)
  • C. a. cottrelli van Someren, 1963 (north-western Zambia, Democratic Republic of Congo: from the south-east to Shaba)
  • C. a. kigezia van Someren, 1963 (western Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, north-western Tanzania)
  • C. a. kulalae van Someren, 1975 (northern Kenya)
  • C. a. mlanji van Someren, 1963 (southern Malawi)
  • C. a. nyika van Someren, 1963 (Malawi: Nyika Plateau, north-eastern Zambia)
  • C. a. oreas Talbot, 1932 (Kenya: central highlands east of the Rift Valley)
  • C. a. rondonis Kielland, 1987 (south-eastern Tanzania)
  • C. a. shimbanus van Someren, 1963 (south-eastern coast of Kenya)
  • C. a. stonehamiana Collins & Larsen, 1991 (western Kenya)
  • C. a. teitensis van Someren, 1963 (south-eastern Kenya, Tanzania: north to Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru)
  • C. a. thiryi Bouyer & Vingerhoedt, 2001 (Democratic Republic of Congo)
  • C. a. usambarensis van Someren, 1963 (north-eastern Tanzania)
  • C. a. vumba van Someren, 1963 (eastern Zimbabwe)
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References
  1. Thurau, F 1903 Neue Rhopaloceren aus Ost Afrika. Ergebnisse der Nyassa-See-un Kenya-Gebirgs-Expedition der Hermann und Elise geb. Heckmann-Wentzel-Stiftung Berliner Entomologische Zeitschrift 48 : 117-143 .
  2. Afrotropical Butterflies: File H - Charaxinae - Tribe Charaxini
  • Victor Gurney Logan Van Someren (1963). Revisional notes on African Charaxes (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Part I. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) (Entomology) 195-242.


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