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Charaxes Caterpillar from the Congo

Posted by July 26th, 2011 at 2:56 am

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brush footed butterfly caterpillars

Blue-horned dragon caterpillar
Location: Bas-Congo, DR Congo
July 26, 2011 1:31 am
Dear Mr. Bugman,
My 9 yo daughter and I are interested in knowing more about a cool caterpillar we encountered in the Kisantu Botanical Gardens here in Congo about 120 km west of Kinshasa. We appreciate any help you can give us.
Katy and her dad.

charaxes cat africa katy 2 300x195 Charaxes Caterpillar from the Congo

Charaxes Caterpillar

Hi Katy and her dad,
While we are unable to provide you with a species name, we can provide you with the genus for this horned Caterpillar.  It is in the genus
Charaxes, a group of Brush Footed Butterflies found in Africa.  According to the Butterfly Corner website, there are over 180 species of Charaxes.  Members of the genus are also found in India and other parts of Asia where they are known as Pashas or Rajahs.  While this is not your species, you can see the similarities to this Madagascar native, the Green Veined Charaxes on the Online Fieldguide website.

charaxes cat africa katy 300x191 Charaxes Caterpillar from the Congo

Charaxes Caterpillar

Hi Daniel,
Would you please put me in contact with Katy’s dad regarding the following?
I might be able to provide a specific ID (the Charaxinae are one of my research subjects; it was I, not David Lees, who initially identified the Malagasy Green-veined Charaxes larva for Philip Bowles), but first need a bit more information and hopefully higher res photos.  Thanks very much!
Cheers,
Keith Wolfe

 

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