White-barred Emperor Butterfly

Facts about White-barred Emperor Butterfly, "Scientific name White-barred Emperor Butterfly is Charaxes brutus". The White-barred Emperor Butterfly has five known subspecies and is commonly found in Africa. The butterfly’s name, White-barred Emperor, is inspired by its white band found on its black wings. The White-barred Emperor Butterfly wings span is about 8cm to 10 cm (3 to 4 inches). The White-barred Emperor Butterfly is only one of the smallest members of the family Nymphalidae. Its taxonomy is as follows: Animalia (Kingdom)> Arthropoda (Phylum)> Insecta (Class)> Lepidoptera (Order)> Nymphalidae (Family)> Charaxini (Tribe)> Charaxes (Genus)> C. brutus (Species).

The White-barred Emperor Butterfly has black fore wings characterized by a ridged margin. The wings have a series of interconnected white spots that form the white band almost through the middle of either wing. The underside of the forewings wings can be fawn, auburn, or grey. The White-barred Emperor Butterfly underside has a broad white band, and black spots. The hind wings, just like the fore wings, have a white band, a ridged margin, and are black in color. However, each hind wing has two tails and metallic blue spots. The underside of the hind wings is similar in appearance to the underside of the fore wings. The fore wings have concave shaped edges while the hind wings assume a triangular shape.

The White-barred Emperor Butterfly has a brown body with a black upside. Just like other adult Charaxes, the White-barred Emperor Butterfly has a robust abdomen and thorax. There is often a superficial difference between male and female Charaxes, and this is the case for the White-barred Emperor Butterfly. The female has a broader wings’ span than that of the male White-barred Emperor. A female White-barred Emperor Butterfly will also exhibit broader tails and less triangular hind wings than those of the male White-barred Emperor Butterfly. Surprisingly, in some Charaxes, the female has two tails while the male has one. In other Charaxes species, the tails in the male Charaxes are absent.

The White-barred Emperor Butterfly undergoes through a complete metamorphosis. Their eggs have a characteristic flattened micropyle end. The resulting caterpillar is slug shaped with a granulated skin. The larva often takes a greenish or yellow color. The larval food plants include Trichelia dregeana, Ekebergia capensis, and Blighia unifugata. Adult White-barred Emperor Butterfly has a year-round flight time. The White-barred Emperor Butterfly is among the fastest flying butterflies in the world with speeds of up to 40Km/h.

The White-barred Emperor Butterfly frequents sunny forests where it perches with partly open wings. Once alerted, it exposes its cryptic underside by closing its wings. Adults White-barred Emperor Butterfly are not fond of sucking flower nectar, rather they feed on oozes from tree wounds, putrid meat, larvae, and rotten fruits. The White-barred Emperor Butterfly has a habit of constantly returning to the same spot, and laying its eggs on tender shoots.

The White-barred Emperor Butterfly is common in the subtropical zones of Africa in regions such as West, East, South, and Central Africa. However, subspecies of the White-barred Emperor Butterfly present in each of these regions differ. The C. b. brutus is common in West Africa, the C. b. alcyone can be found in some parts of East Africa, C. b. angustus is common in Central Africa, and the C. b. natalensis can be found in Southern Africa. The C. b. roberti is only found in the island of Pemba. The White-barred Emperor Butterfly is popular among butterfly hunters and can be trapped with baits such as rotten fruits. The White-barred Emperor Butterfly faces risk of extinction which has caused various organizations to put measures in place to conserve the species. White-barred Emperor Butterfly are insects. A White-barred Emperor Butterfly is a herbivore; Meaning that as a caterpillar its first food is its own eggshell and than it will eat the leaves of the plant on which it is hatched. When it becomes a White-barred Emperor Butterfly, it will feed mostly on nectar from flowers, rotting fruit and water with a "proboscis" - a long narrow tube in their mouth that looks like a straw.

Life cycle of a White-barred Emperor Butterfly comes in four stages, egg, larva "caterpillars", pupa "chrysalis" and adult Butterfly.
A White-barred Emperor Butterfly will attach its eggs to leaves with a special glue.

When caterpillars become fully grown they will attach to an appropriate leaf or small branch, than they will shed the outside layer of their skin and a hard skin underneath known as a "chrysalis" will be their new look
An adult White-barred Emperor Butterfly will come out from the "chrysalis" than it waits a few hours for its wings to dry and fill with blood, before it takes its first flight.

White-barred Emperor Butterfly can see yellow, green, and red. An adult White-barred Emperor Butterfly average life span is from a week to a year
The top flight speed of a White-barred Emperor Butterfly is 12 miles per hour and some moths can fly up to 25 miles per hour.
A White-barred Emperor Butterfly is cold-blooded, which means the body temperature is not regulated on its own. A Butterfly can't fly or eat if their body temperature is below 82 degrees fah (28 cel). White-barred Emperor Butterfly are often basking in the sun with their wings open to gain heat and than the veins in the wings carry the heat to the body.
A White-barred Emperor Butterfly has sense organ, on their feet or tarsi, for tasting
The estimate is between 15000 and 20000 different species of butterfly.

A White-barred Emperor Butterfly has a small body, made up of three parts – the head, abdomen and thorax. A White-barred Emperor Butterfly has two large eyes, which are made up of many small parts which are called "compound eyes".
A White-barred Emperor Butterfly has two antenna's on the top of their heads, which they use to smell, hear and feel. A White-barred Emperor Butterfly mouth is a long tube a "proboscis" - a long narrow tube in their mouth that looks like a straw when its done eating, it rolls the tube back up.

A White-barred Emperor Butterfly has three pairs of legs and their feet have little claws that help them stand on flowers. The White-barred Emperor Butterfly wings are made up of hard tubes that are covered with a thin tissue. The White-barred Emperor Butterfly wings are covered with fine dusty like scales. A Butterfly has four brightly colored wings having distinctive patterns made up of tiny scales. The bright patterns scales sometimes have hidden ultraviolet patterns for attracting mates. The bright colors are also used as camouflage to hide them or scare off predictors.