Charaxes karkloof, the Karkloof emperor, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in South Africa."Charaxes Ochsenheimer, 1816" at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
The wingspan is 45–55 mm in males and 50–60 mm in females. Flight period is from October to June.
Larvae feed on Ochna arborea, Ochna natalitia, and Ochna serrulata. Notes on the biology of karkloof are provided by Pringle et al (1994)Pringle et al, 1994. Pennington’s Butterflies of Southern Africa, 2nd edition
Similar species Charaxes ethalion and Charaxes pondoensis
Taxonomy Charaxes karkloof is a member of the large species group Charaxes etheocles
Subspecies Listed alphabetically. C. k. capensis van Someren, 1966 .Van Someren, V.G.L. 1966. Revisional notes on African Charaxes (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Part III. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) (Entomology) 18: 45-101.(South Africa: Eastern Cape Province) C. k. karkloof van Someren & Jackson, 1957 (South Africa: KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape Province) C. k. trimeni Rydon, 1994 Rydon, AQ.H.B. 1994 Description of a new subspecies of Charaxes karkloof Van Someren and Jackson. In: Pringle et al, 1994. Pennington’s Butterflies of Southern Africa, 2ndedition: 97:197(South Africa: Western Cape Province to Saasveld, and Hoogekraal Pass near George)
Etymology From the type locality Karkloof in Natal
References
Victor Gurney Logan Van Someren, 1966 Revisional notes on African Charaxes (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Part III. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) (Entomology)45-101.
External links Charaxes karkloof images at Consortium for the Barcode of Life Charaxes karkloof karkloof images at BOLD Charaxes karkloof capensis images at BOLD