Charaxes protoclea

Flame-borded Charaxes

Basic Information

General information

Family: “Nymphalidae”
Sub Family: “Charaxinae”
Estimated Lifespan 15 Days

Garden Specific Information

Estimated Number In Flight: 0
Total Number of Pupae Received: 961
First Flown On: 11/12/02
Last Flown On: 10/06/23

Species Range:

  • “Africa”

Host plants:

  • The larvae are known to feed on Leguminosae
  • Myrtaceae and Poaceae.

Food Source

Not being big nectar feeders the adults usually feed on rotting fruits and tree sap. The males can occasionally be found taking up nutrients from wet sand or dung.

Etymology Of Name

Charax origin is Greek and refers to a Roman fortress close to the town of Gaspra, Ukraine. The specie Protos is Greek for “first”.

Habitat

Found in tropical forest spending most of their time flying in the upper canopy of the forest.

Life history

The males are territoral so they take regular flights to patrol for invading males. After mating the female deposits her eggs on the host plants in the canopy.

Flights

Because there are multiple generations each year it is possible to find adults in flight almost all year round.

Fun Facts

Since the Flame Bordered Charaxes spends most of its time in the forest canopy it is very hard to collect in the wild. So to collect these butterflies people put out fruit dishes in a open sunny location and wait for the butterflies to come down.