Charaxes solon

{{Speciesbox

| name = Black rajah

| image = Black Rajah Charaxes solon (3836614208).jpg

| image_caption = Upper side

| image2 = Close wing position of Charaxes solon, Fabricius, 1793 – Black Rajah WLB.jpg

| image2_caption = Underside

| taxon = Charaxes solon

| authority = (Fabricius) 1793

| synonyms =

Papilio fabius Fabricius, 1781 (preocc.)
Papilio solon Fabricius, 1793

}}

Charaxes solon, the black rajah, is a butterfly species found in tropical Asia. It belongs to the Charaxinae (rajahs and nawabs) in the brush-footed butterfly family (Nymphalidae).{{Source-attribution|sentence=yes|{{Cite book|url= https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/103300#page/261/mode/1up|title=Lepidoptera Indica. Vol. II |last= Moore |first= Frederic |author-link=Frederic Moore|publisher=Lovell Reeve and Co.|year=1893–1896 |location= London|pages=249–252}}}}{{Cite web|url= http://ftp.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/papilionoidea/nymphalidae/charaxinae/charaxes/ |title= Charaxes Ochsenheimer, 1816 Charaxes Rajahs|last=Savela|first=Markku|website=Tree of life - insecta - lepidoptera|access-date=2018-03-14}}{{Cite book |url= https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287980260 |title= A Synoptic Catalogue of the Butterflies of India |last1=R.K. |first1=Varshney |last2=Smetacek |first2= Peter|publisher=Butterfly Research Centre, Bhimtal & Indinov Publishing, New Delhi |year=2015 |isbn= 978-81-929826-4-9|location=New Delhi |pages=157 |doi=10.13140/RG.2.1.3966.2164}}{{Source-attribution|sentence=yes|{{Cite book|url= https://archive.org/stream/butterfliesvolii00bing#page/216/mode/2up/|title=Fauna of British India. Butterflies Vol. 2 |last=Bingham|first=Charles Thomas|author-link=Charles Thomas Bingham|publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=1907|pages=217–218}}}}

Description

File:Black Rajah.jpg

The black rajah is a medium-sized butterfly with a 70- to 80-mm wingspan. Above, the butterfly is dark brownish black with greenish or white discal bands across both the wings. The band is broken into spots towards the apex of the fore wing. The hind wing has two similar-sized tails at veins 2 and 4. These tails are longer in the females and more pointed in the males.{{cite book|last=Wynter-Blyth |first=Mark Alexander |author-link=Mark Alexander Wynter-Blyth |title=Butterflies of the Indian Region |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yEkgAQAAMAAJ |year=1957 |location=Bombay, India |publisher=Bombay Natural History Society |isbn=978-8170192329 }} pp. 146-147

= Egg =

Its egg is transparent yellow and spherical, with longitudinal ridges. It has a dark red, uneven band around its upper half.

= Caterpillar =

The caterpillar is dark green with irregular rows of yellow tubercles. The caterpillar is cylindrical and may have a round white blotch on the seventh segment. The head is curved out and has horns and spines. The pupa is short and dark green, with a lateral longitudinal line marbled with white.{{cite book |last=Haribal |first=Meena |title=The Butterflies of Sikkim Himalaya and Their Natural History |location=Gangtok, Sikkim, India |publisher=Sikkim Nature Conservation Foundation |year=1992 }} p.151

Range

The butterfly is found in South and Southeast Asia. It occurs in Sri Lanka, India, Myanmar, Indochina, Cambodia, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Sumatra, Sulawesi, and the Philippines (Palawan, Sulu Archipelago). In India, the butterfly occurs in South India, and the Himalayas from Kumaon, Sikkim, into Bhutan, through Assam, and onto Myanmar. At least in South Asia, it is not rare.{{cite book |last=Haribal |first=Meena |title=The Butterflies of Sikkim Himalaya and Their Natural History |location=Gangtok, Sikkim, India |publisher=Sikkim Nature Conservation Foundation |year=1992 }} p.151{{cite web |first=Markku |last=Savela |url=http://ftp.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/papilionoidea/nymphalidae/charaxinae/charaxes/ |title=Charaxes Ochsenheimer, 1816 |website=Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms |access-date=November 1, 2017}}

Ecology

The black rajah is generally a low-elevation butterfly and can be found at altitudes up to 1950 m (6500 feet) ASL.

The caterpillars generally feed on Fabaceae, such as tamarind Tamarindus indica. At least on Borneo but probably elsewhere too, adults do generally not visit carrion or old fruit to drink liquids.Hamer, K.C.; Hill, J.K.; Benedick, S.; Mustaffa, N.; Chey, V.K. & Maryati, M. (2006): Diversity and ecology of carrion- and fruit-feeding butterflies in Bornean rain forest. Journal of Tropical Ecology 22: 25–33. {{doi|10.1017/S0266467405002750}} (HTML abstract)

Gallery

File:An egg of Charaxes solon (Fabricius, 1793) – Black Rajah .jpg|Egg

File:Caterpillar of Charaxes solon (Fabricius, 1793) – Black Rajah .jpg|Caterpillar

File:Black Rajah ( Charaxes solon).jpg|Black rajah (Charaxes solon) adult from Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh

File:Black Rajah (Charaxes solon) in Kawal WS, AP W IMG 1803.jpg|Adult in Kawal Wildlife Sanctuary, India

File:Close wing position of Charaxes solon, Fabricius, 1793 – Black Rajah WLB.jpg|In Chandannagar, West Bengal, India

File:Charaxes solon at MNP.jpg|On Millettia pinnata at Mahim Nature Park in Mumbai, India

File:Charaxes solon - Black Rajah- Rama warrier.jpg|alt=Charaxes solon - black rajah - Upper side|Upper side