Charaxes violetta (Charaxes violetta)
Phylum — arthropoda
Class — insecta
Order — lepidoptera
Family — nymphalidae
Genus – charaxes
Appearance
The older caterpillars are green, covered with small pimples.
The wingspan is 65–70 mm for males and 75–85 mm for females. The forewings of the males are dark brown, slightly purple with a curved row of purple-blue spots in the middle of the wings. Hindwings are with a broad central violet-blue stripe. Females have got a broad light stripe on the wings. The underside of the wings is ochre-brown with a pattern of white and black. Females have got a wide light stripe along the underside. The hind wings have two small tails.
Habitat
It is found in southern Africa.
Behavior
It demonstrates daily activity. Species is double brooded from August to October and April to June.
Diet
Larvae feed on Blighia unijugata and Deinbollia species. The butterflies feed on overripe tree fruits and tree sap.
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 23-26 oC. The humidity is 70-80%. The pupa is green. Butterflies live for about 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.