Charaxes druceanus
Charaxes druceanus, the silver-barred emperor or silver-barred charaxes, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found throughout tropical Africa. Description. The wingspan is 55–70 mm in males and 65–85 mm in females. "Ch. druceanus" Btlr. is above similar to "Charaxes phraortes" and "Charaxes andranodorus", but has the basal part of the upper surface darker chestnut-brown, so that the median band is sharply defined proximally; the marginal spots of both wings are large and form on the hindwing a continuous band; the hindwing is not tailed at vein 3; the black submarginal band on  both wings is considerably narrower than in "phraortes" and "andranodorus". The ground-colour of the under surface is rust-brown and the white markings have a beautiful silver gloss; the black transverse markings in the basal part of the hindwing are much reduced and only represented by fine streaks; as in "andranodorus" cellules 7 and 8 each have only one black spot or transverse streak, and even this may sometimes be absent; the median band of the hindwing is posteriorly much narrowed and is unicolorous or only in cellules 2—4 with a black streak at its proximal side. Congo, Angola , Nyassaland, Zambesi, Transvaal, Natal. Biology. Its flight period is year-round. The larvae feed on various "Syzygium" species (including "Syzygium cordatum" and "Syzygium guineense"), "Bersama abyssinica", "Eugenia" species, and "Schefflera goetzenii". Notes on the biology of "druceanus" are given by Pringle et al (1994) Habitat. Coastal belt and forest edges up to more than 5,000 m. Subspecies. Listed alphabetically: Taxonomy. Curle & Curle describe a hybrid of "Charaxes druceanus" and "Charaxes brutus" Related species. Historical attempts to assemble a cluster of presumably related species into a ""Charaxes jasius" Group" have not been wholly convincing. More recent taxonomic revision, corroborated by phylogenetic  research, allow a more rational grouping congruent with cladistic relationships. Within a well-populated clade of 27 related species sharing a common ancestor approximately 16 mya during the Miocene, 26 are now considered together as The "jasius" Group. One of the two lineages within this clade forms a robust monophyletic group of seven species sharing a common ancestor approximately 2-3 mya, i.e. during the Pliocene, and are considered as the "jasius" subgroup. The second lineage leads to 19 other species within the Jasius group, which are split in to three well-populated subgroups of closely related species. The "jasius  Group (26 Species): Clade 1: jasius" subgroup (7 species) Clade 2: contains the well-populated three additional subgroups (19 species) of the jasius Group: called the brutus, pollux, and "eudoxus" subgroups. Further exploration of the phylogenetic relationships amongst existing "Charaxes" taxa is required to improve clarity.