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Subfamily Charaxinae Charaxes hansali Melanitis leda (Linnaeus, 1758) Common Evening Brown

C. & R. Felder, [1867]

Cream-banded Charaxes A rare species in the Levant’s southern fringes. This large and
unmistakable Satyrid is unique among the region butterflies;
being a crepuscular species, flying mainly at dusk, hence its
This powerful flyer is one of the largest butterflies of common name. Adults may vary greatly in the wings’ shape and
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the region, rivalling in size its related species C. Jasius. underside coloration between wet and dry seasons, with the first
Better adapted to arid areas than other congeners; having more angular wings and much reduced and often absent
inhabiting desert oasis and scrap-vegetation areas eye spots.
supporting its LHP. Males are territorial. Adults are
attracted to fermenting fruits and feed on sap.
21603-BRACHA-PARPAR - 21603-BRACHA-PARPAR | 3 - B | 22-01-02 | 12:34:17 | SR:-- | Magenta
21603-BRACHA-PARPAR - 21603-BRACHA-PARPAR | 3 - B | 22-01-02 | 12:34:17 | SR:-- | Yellow
%LRORJ\
#21603-BRACHA-PARPAR - 21603-BRACHA-PARPAR | 3 - B | 22-01-02 | 12:34:17 | SR:-- | Black
21603-BRACHA-PARPAR - 21603-BRACHA-PARPAR | 3 - B | 22-01-02 | 12:34:17 | SR:-- | Cyan
Biology )OLJKW SHULRG In Saudi Arabia reported in May (Wadi Dur, T.
Larsen, 1980; A.R. Pittaway, 1981), October (Wadi Sharas, DGXOW 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0 1 12

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

5
HJJJ
Flight period: recorded in Gebel Elba, SE Egypt in March T. Larsen, 1981) and December (Dhofar, T. Michels, 1979). lar v a
pupa
and April (Gilbert & Zalat, 2007: 101) ~1000-1800 m. Elsewhere fly year round (Larsen, 1983).
Recorded in Jebel el Lawz, Hejaz, NW Saudi Arabia in
April, 2000-2500 m. In Oman recorded in March, 400- /LIH KLVWRU\ not reported from the Levant. A fully grown 40 mm
1000 m (Larsen, 1983: 419). Elsewhere year round. long larva was found in the Lemur’s Anja Community Reserve in
SW Madagascar in mid-April 2018 and was bred to male adult
Life history: not reported in the Levant. In Africa: the by DB (illustr.). The larva was light green with thin dark green
singly laid egg is spherical with ridged flat top, cream dorsal line and three wider lines along both sides, the lower one
and change to yellow, a brown ring appears later and being the wider. The body was covered with small white setae
the egg becomes brown before L1 hatches after 7-10 and short white hairs. The body ends with whitish-green fork.
days. The newly hatched larva it olive green with black The head had two “horns”, dark green, with dark brown strip
head. The mature larva resembles that of C. Jasius: is runs up its sides to the “horns”, bordering a thinner white strip.
55 mm long, green with thin yellow strips on both sides The head was covered with long hairs, white on the green and
and a mid-dorsal small oval reddish-purple spot. The white areas, dark brown and white on the brown areas and horns dry season form
pupa is suspended from the LHP, 28 mm long, green (illustr.). The green pendulous 17 mm long pupa is typical Satyrid
and resembles that of C. Jasius. The adult eclosed after shape, it remained green until one day before hatching in the
3 weeks (Henning, 1988: 96). lab. after eight days.
Recorded hostplants: Not reported in the Levant, 5HFRUGHG KRVWSODQWV Poaceae (Gramineae).
elsewhere Salvadora persica or Dobera glabra
(Salvadoraceae). Also known to feed on Osyris (illustr.)
and Colpoon spp. (Santalaceae), but these plants are 'LVWULEXWLRQ
extremely rare in NW Arabia (Collenette, 1999: 666).
TL: “China”. This species is widely distributed throughout all
the Palaeotropical and Australian regions with numerous sspp.
Distribution described throughout its range. The Levant’s specimens belong
to the nominotypical ssp.
TL: “Africa, Bogos” (N Ethiopia). Distributed from E wet season form
Africa, Tanzania and Kenya, to SE Egypt and the Arabian
Peninsula. Three subspecies were reported in the wider
Levant: C. h. hansali C. & R. Felder [1867] - confined
to southeast Egypt in Gebel Elba. C. h. arabica Riley,
1931. TL: “S. E. Arabia, Qara Mts and Wadi Balsh” -
recorded from Dhofar & Oman (Larsen, 1983: 418) © Dubi Benyamini
and C. h. yemeni Turlin, 1998, described from Yemen.
In April 2001 it was discovered at Jebel el Lawz, NW
Hejaz, a northwards expansion of 950 km from its
known record in Taif (Pittaway, 1985), (Benyamini &
Müller, 2020). © Dubi Benyamini

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2Butterflies of the Levant danaidae satyridae.indd 38 1/2/2022 12:14:28 PM 2Butterflies of the Levant danaidae satyridae.indd 43 12/30/2021 4:21:51 PM

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