Charaxes lasti

Charaxes lasti, the silver-striped charaxes, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Kenya and Tanzania.

Description
lasti Smith male: the black spots on the upperside of the forewing which divide the median band are free or nearly so; the hindwing above is almost unicolorous red-yellow, only before the distal margin with a row of black submarginal spots. The female has a whitish yellow median band, which on the forewing is already divided into two branches from cellule 2, the proximal one composed of very irregular spots; the distal part of the forewing is black with small red-yellow marginal spots; the basal part of both wings yellow-brown; the hindwing with a broad black submarginal band before the red-yellow distal margin. Manicaland to Mombasa in British East Africa.

Biology
The habitat consists of coastal and sub-coastal forests and heavy woodland.

The larvae feed on Afzelia quanzensis, Paramacrolobium coeruleum, Julbernardia magnistipulata, and Macrolobium species.

Taxonomy
Charaxes cynthia group.

The group members are:
 * Charaxes cynthia similar to Charaxes lucretius
 * Charaxes protoclea
 * Charaxes boueti close to next
 * Charaxes lasti close to last
 * Charaxes alticola

Related to Charaxes cynthia, Charaxes macclounii and Charaxes boueti

Subspecies

 * Charaxes lasti lasti (Kenya: southern coast and the Shimba Hills, north-eastern Tanzania)
 * Charaxes lasti kimbozae Kielland, 1984 (eastern Tanzania)
 * Charaxes lasti magomberae Kielland, 1984 (eastern Tanzania)