Two-tailed Pasha

Charaxes jasius belongs to the nymphalid subfamily Charaxinae. Linnaeus named it in 1767 as Papilio jasius; Two-tailed Pasha is its established English common name. [1][2]

The upperwings are deep brown with broad yellow-orange marginal bands. Small yellow-brown spots cross the outer forewing, and blue spots lie just inside the hindwing border. Each hindwing ends in two tails. Beneath, burgundy patches and bands are outlined in white. Females are larger than males. [1]

The species occurs around the Mediterranean Basin. In Albania it chiefly inhabits coastal maquis and bush-covered slopes with strawberry trees, from low elevations to approximately 1,000 m. [1][2]

Albanian adults fly in two generations: a smaller spring emergence from April to June, followed by a summer generation from August to October. The caterpillar is the overwintering stage. [1]

Strawberry tree, Arbutus unedo, is a larval food plant. Albanian records include caterpillars on this evergreen shrub at Himarë. [1][2]

The original name Papilio jasius dates to Linnaeus’s 1767 description. The type locality is recorded as Algeria in the French national taxonomic reference. [2]

Keep the enclosure closed and display it in indirect light, away from heat and damp conditions. Handle the frame by its edges and clean only its exterior according to the maker’s instructions.