CHARAXES LASTI

Charaxes lasti (Charaxes lasti)

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

Genus – charaxes

Appearance

The older caterpillars are green. The wingspan of the butterfly is 65-75 mm. The forewings and hindwings are dark brown with orange. The color differs in different subspecies. The underside of the wings is beige-brown. The hind wings have two small tails.

Habitat

It is found in Kenya and Tanzania.

Behavior

Charaxes lasti demonstrates daily activity. Charaxes lasti can be found in flight year-round.

Diet

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

The butterflies feed on sap flowing from wounds on trees and rotting fruit.

Reproduction

For their reproduction you need a terrarium with a size of 50 x 50 x 70 cm. After mating the females lays the eggs singly on the upperside of the leaves of the hostplant. 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 70-80%. Pupae are green or brown with a large lighter spot. Butterflies live approximately for 14 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.