Charaxes xiphares, the forest king emperor or forest king charaxes, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is native to Afromontane forest in the eastern and southern Afrotropical realm.
The wingspan is 65–80 mm for males and 70–95 mm for females.
The larvae feed on Craibia brevecaudata, Scutia myrtina, Rhamnus prinoides, Cryptocarya woodii, Scutia myrtina, Chaetachme aristata, and Drypetes gerrardii.
Listed alphabetically:
C. x. bavenda van Son, 1935 – South Africa: Soutpansberg in Limpopo provinceC. x. bergeri Plantrou, 1975 – DRCC. x. brevicaudatus Schultze, 1914 – southern TanzaniaC. x. burgessi van Son, 1953 – DRC: Kivu, south-western Uganda, Rwanda, BurundiC. x. desmondi van Someren, 1936 – Kenya: south-east to the Taita HillsC. x. draconis Jordan, 1936 – Swaziland and South Africa: Mpumalanga provinceC. x. kenwayi Poulton, 1929 – South Africa: north-eastern Limpopo provinceC. x. kiellandi Plantrou, 1976 – northern TanzaniaC. x. kilimensis van Someren, 1972 – northern TanzaniaC. x. kulal van Someren, 1962 – Kenya: north to Mount KulalC. x. ludovici Rousseau-Decelle, 1933 – northern Malawi, north-eastern ZambiaC. x. maudei Joicey & Talbot, 1917 – north-eastern TanzaniaC. x. nguru Collins, 1988 – eastern TanzaniaC. x. occidentalis Pringle, 1995 – South Africa: Western Cape provinceC. x. penningtoni van Son, 1953 – South Africa: KwaZulu-Natal provinceC. x. sitebi Plantou, 1981 – north-western TanzaniaC. x. staudei Henning & Henning, 1992 – South Africa: north-east and north-west slopes of Blouberg in Limpopo provinceC. x. thyestes (Stoll, 1790) – South Africa: Eastern Cape provinceC. x. upembana Plantrou, 1976 – DRCC. x. vumbui van Son, 1936 – eastern ZimbabweC. x. walwandi Collins, 1989 – Kenya, TanzaniaC. x. wernickei Joicey & Talbot, 1926 – CameroonC. x. woodi van Someren, 1964 – southern MalawiC. x. xiphares (Stoll, [1781]) – South Africa: Eastern Cape and Western Cape provincesCharaxes 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.
