Charaxes ethalion, the satyr emperor or satyr charaxes, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in southern Africa.
The wingspan is 45âÂÂ55 mm in males and 50âÂÂ63 mm in females. Ch. ethalion Bdv. Very nearly allied to c. etheocles and only differing in the male in the genital armature and in the female in having the cell of the forewing above unicolorous, never with light spots. Male: wings above velvety black, almost without metallic gloss. Forewing above without marginal spots and at most with a postdiscal and a discal spot; spot in the cell often absent. Hindwing with small or indistinct whitish submarginal dots and greenish, in cellules 4âÂÂ6 often red-yellow marginal streaks. The female is similar to that of etheocles f. etheocles, but has no spot in the cell of the forewing. The markings are white, ochre-yellow or bluish. Cape to British East Africa. â Larva unicolorous green with a yellowish-bordered spot on the sixth segment. âÂÂab. kitungulensis Strand has two postdiscal spots in 6 and 7, but no other light spots on the forewing. German East Africa. A full description is also given by Rothschild, W. And Jordan, K., 1900 Novitates Zoologicae Volume 7:478-479 https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/3267025/#page/492/mode/1up (for terms see Novitates Zoologicae Volume 5:545-601 https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/22556#page/9/mode/1up)
The habitat is forest and dense moist savanna, including Brachystegia woodland.
Larvae feed on Albizia spp., Newtonia buchananii, Peltophorum africanum, Dichrostachys cinerea, Acacia ataxacantha, and Scutia myrtina.
Notes on the biology of ethalion are given by Pringle et al. (1994), and Kielland, J. (1990).
Listed alphabetically:
Charaxes pondoensis and Charaxes karkloof
Charaxes ethalion is a member of the large species group Charaxes etheocles.
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