Charaxes lasti, the silver-striped charaxes, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Kenya and Tanzania.[3]

Silver-striped charaxes
Charaxes lasti in Rhopalocera exotica
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Charaxes
Species:
C. lasti
Binomial name
Charaxes lasti
Synonyms
  • Charaxes boueti centralis Neustetter, 1929

Description

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lasti Smith male: the black spots on the upperside of the forewing which divide the median band are free or nearly so; the hindwing above is almost unicolorous red-yellow, only before the distal margin with a row of black submarginal spots. The female has a whitish yellow median band, which on the forewing is already divided into two branches from cellule 2, the proximal one composed of very irregular spots; the distal part of the forewing is black with small red-yellow marginal spots; the basal part of both wings yellow-brown; the hindwing with a broad black submarginal band before the red-yellow distal margin. Manicaland to Mombasa in British East Africa. [4]

Biology

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The habitat consists of coastal and sub-coastal forests and heavy woodland.

The larvae feed on Afzelia quanzensis, Paramacrolobium coeruleum, Julbernardia magnistipulata, and Macrolobium species.

Taxonomy

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Charaxes cynthia group.

The group members are:

Related to Charaxes cynthia, Charaxes macclounii and Charaxes boueti [5]

Subspecies

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  • Charaxes lasti lasti (Kenya: southern coast and the Shimba Hills, north-eastern Tanzania)
  • Charaxes lasti kimbozae Kielland, 1984 [6](eastern Tanzania)
  • Charaxes lasti magomberae Kielland, 1984 (eastern Tanzania)

References

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  1. ^ Grose-Smith, H. 1889. Descriptions of twenty-four new species of butterflies captured by Mr. Last in the neighbourhood of Mombasa, East Coast of Africa, in the collection of Mr. H. Grose-Smith. Annals and Magazine of Natural History (6) 3: 121-137.
  2. ^ "Charaxes Ochsenheimer, 1816" at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
  3. ^ "Afrotropical Butterflies: File H - Charaxinae - Tribe Charaxini". Archived from the original on 2013-11-09. Retrieved 2012-05-22.
  4. ^ Aurivillius, [P.O.]C. 1908-1924. In: Seitz, A. Die Großschmetterlinge der Erde Band 13: Abt. 2, Die exotischen Großschmetterlinge, Die afrikanischen Tagfalter, 1925, 613 Seiten, 80 Tafeln (The Macrolepidoptera of the World 13).Alfred Kernen Verlag, Stuttgart.  This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ^ Kielland, J. 1990 . Butterflies of Tanzania. Hill House, Melbourne and London: 1-363.
  6. ^ Kielland, J. 1984. Two new subspecies of Charaxes lasti Grose Smith (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae) from Tanzania. Lambillionea 83 (9-10): 70-77.
  • Victor Gurney Logan Van Someren (1970). Revisional notes on African Charaxes (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Part VI. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) (Entomology) 197-250.[1]
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