CHARAXES BRUTUS

CHARAXES BRUTUS (Charaxes brutus)

Phylum — arthropoda
Class — insecta
Order — lepidoptera
Family — nymphalidae

Genus – charaxes

Appearance

The older caterpillars are green with short pimples. They`ve got four backward-pointing horns on the head. The caterpillar has a small orange spot on its back.

Its average wingspan is 60–75 mm in males and 75–90 mm in females. The forewings and hindwings are black with a broad white stripe. The underside of the wings is a pale-white-chestnut. The hind wings have two small tails.

Habitat

It is found in Africa.

Behavior

Charaxes castor demonstrates daily activity. Its flight period is year-round.

Diet

Larvae feed on Blighia unifugata, Ekebergia capensis, Entandrophagma delevoi, and Trichelia dregeana.

The butterflies feed on sap flowing from wounds on trees and rotting fruit. They like to feed on fresh manure and rotten meat.

Reproduction

For their reproduction you need a terrarium with a size of 50 x 50 x 70 cm. Females lay eggs one at a time on the top of the leaves of the forage plant. The eggs are yellow.

It is better to keep the caterpillars in terrariums of 6-8 pieces. In the terrarium, you need to place a branch of a forage plant. Forage plants should be replaced every 3-4 days. The temperature is 22-26 ^oC. The humidity is 60-70%. The pupa is bright green. Butterflies live for about 10 days.

In captivity

The mesh terrarium with a size of 50 × 50 × 70 mm is suitable for keeping butterflies. Room temperature is necessary. Daylight time is 12 hours. You can feed butterflies an overripe banana or with honey syrup diluted with boiled water in a ratio of 1:10.