Club-tailed Charaxes

Charaxes zoolina, the club-tailed charaxes or club-tailed butterfly, is a medium-sized nymphalid butterfly in the family Nymphalidae, subfamily Charaxinae, native to sub-Saharan Africa. The genus Charaxes is one of the most speciose butterfly genera in Africa, known for robust, fast-flying adults with strongly scalloped hindwings. C. zoolina is distributed widely across sub-Saharan African woodland and forest-margin habitats, from West Africa through East Africa to southern Africa. Adults are typically orange-brown with black borders and pale submarginal spots, similar in pattern to many other Charaxes species. Like other charaxines, adults are attracted to fermenting fruit, sap flows, dung, and carrion rather than flowers, obtaining essential amino acids and minerals from these substrates. Males are territorial, perching on prominent vantage points to intercept females and rival males. Larvae feed on plants in the family Fabaceae, particularly Albizia species. The species is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN given its wide distribution and apparent stability across suitable woodland savanna habitats in tropical Africa.