Charaxes solon

Black rajah
	Upper side
	Underside
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Charaxes
Species:	C. solon
Binomial name
	Charaxes solon; (Fabricius) 1793
Synonyms
	Papilio fabius Fabricius, 1781 (preocc.); Papilio solon Fabricius, 1793;

Charaxes solon, the black rajah,^[2]^[3] is a butterfly species found in tropical Asia. It belongs to the Charaxinae (rajahs and nawabs) in the brush-footed butterfly family (Nymphalidae).^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

Description

The black rajah is a medium-sized butterfly with a 70- to 80-mm wingspan. Above, the butterfly is dark brownish black with greenish or white discal bands across both the wings. The band is broken into spots towards the apex of the fore wing. The hind wing has two similar-sized tails at veins 2 and 4. These tails are longer in the females and more pointed in the males.^[5]

Egg

Its egg is transparent yellow and spherical, with longitudinal ridges. It has a dark red, uneven band around its upper half.

Caterpillar

The caterpillar is dark green with irregular rows of yellow tubercles. The caterpillar is cylindrical and may have a round white blotch on the seventh segment. The head is curved out and has horns and spines. The pupa is short and dark green, with a lateral longitudinal line marbled with white.^[6]

Range

The butterfly is found in South and Southeast Asia. It occurs in Sri Lanka, India, Myanmar, Indochina, Cambodia, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Sumatra, Sulawesi, and the Philippines (Palawan, Sulu Archipelago). In India, the butterfly occurs in South India, and the Himalayas from Kumaon, Sikkim, into Bhutan, through Assam, and onto Myanmar. At least in South Asia, it is not rare.^[2]^[3]^[7]^[8]

Ecology

The black rajah is generally a low-elevation butterfly and can be found at altitudes up to 1950 m (6500 feet) ASL.

The caterpillars generally feed on Fabaceae, such as tamarind Tamarindus indica.^[6] At least on Borneo but probably elsewhere too, adults do generally not visit carrion or old fruit to drink liquids.^[9]

Gallery

Egg
Caterpillar
Black rajah (Charaxes solon) adult from Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh
Adult in Kawal Wildlife Sanctuary, India
In Chandannagar, West Bengal, India
On Millettia pinnata at Mahim Nature Park in Mumbai, India
Upper side

References

^ ^a ^b One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Moore, Frederic (1893–1896). Lepidoptera Indica. Vol. II. London: Lovell Reeve and Co. pp. 249–252.
^ ^a ^b ^c Savela, Markku. "Charaxes Ochsenheimer, 1816 Charaxes Rajahs". Tree of life - insecta - lepidoptera. Retrieved 2018-03-14.
^ ^a ^b ^c R.K., Varshney; Smetacek, Peter (2015). A Synoptic Catalogue of the Butterflies of India. New Delhi: Butterfly Research Centre, Bhimtal & Indinov Publishing, New Delhi. p. 157. doi:10.13140/RG.2.1.3966.2164. ISBN 978-81-929826-4-9.
^ One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Bingham, Charles Thomas (1907). Fauna of British India. Butterflies Vol. 2. Taylor & Francis. pp. 217–218.
^ Wynter-Blyth, Mark Alexander (1957). Butterflies of the Indian Region. Bombay, India: Bombay Natural History Society. ISBN 978-8170192329. pp. 146-147
^ ^a ^b Haribal, Meena (1992). The Butterflies of Sikkim Himalaya and Their Natural History. Gangtok, Sikkim, India: Sikkim Nature Conservation Foundation. p.151
^ Haribal, Meena (1992). The Butterflies of Sikkim Himalaya and Their Natural History. Gangtok, Sikkim, India: Sikkim Nature Conservation Foundation. p.151
^ Savela, Markku. "Charaxes Ochsenheimer, 1816". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
^ Hamer, K.C.; Hill, J.K.; Benedick, S.; Mustaffa, N.; Chey, V.K. & Maryati, M. (2006): Diversity and ecology of carrion- and fruit-feeding butterflies in Bornean rain forest. Journal of Tropical Ecology 22: 25–33. doi:10.1017/S0266467405002750 (HTML abstract)