Charaxes imperialis, the imperial blue charaxes, is a butterfly in the Nymphalidae family. It is found in Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, the Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia. The habitat consists of lowland to sub-montane forests
The larvae probably feed on Sapindaceae species.
Charaxes tiridates group.
The supposed clade members are:
Charaxes tiridatesCharaxes numenes similar to nextCharaxes bipunctatus similar to lastCharaxes violettaCharaxes fuscusCharaxes mixtusCharaxes bubastisCharaxes albimaculatusCharaxes barnsiCharaxes bohemaniCharaxes schoutedeniCharaxes monteiriCharaxes smaragdalisCharaxes xipharesCharaxes cithaeronCharaxes nandinaCharaxes imperialisCharaxes ameliaeCharaxes pythodoris? Charaxes overlaetiFor a full list see Eric Vingerhoedt, 2013.
C. i. imperialis (Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Benin)C. i. albipuncta Joicey & Talbot, 1920 (Nigeria, Cameroon, Central African Republic, northern Democratic Republic of the Congo)C. i. dargei Collins, 1989 (southern Congo)C. i. graziellae Turlin, 1989 (Tanzania: north-west to the Mumwendo Forest)C. i. lisomboensis van Someren, 1975 (north-eastern Zambia, Tanzania: Kigoma)C. i. nathaliae Canu, 1989 (Bioko)C. i. pauliani Rousseau-Decelle, 1933 (Democratic Republic of the Congo: south to Lualaba)C. i. ugandicus van Someren, 1972 (Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo: north Kivu)C. i. werneri Turlin, 1989 (Rwanda: Nyungwe Forest)
