Tiridates Charaxes vs Emerald Cockroach Wasp

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Tiridates Charaxes Emerald Cockroach Wasp
Scientific Name Charaxes tiridates Ampulex compressa
Order Lepidoptera Hymenoptera
Family Nymphalidae Ampulicidae
Size 80-100 mm wingspan 22 mm
Habitat Forests Forests
Diet Sap Feeders Nectar Feeders
Regions West and Central Africa (Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, DRC) Africa, Asia, Oceania
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Tiridates Charaxes

A spectacular large forest butterfly with vivid blue and black upperside and ornate brown and white underside markings. It is a powerful glider that soars through the forest canopy. Two prominent tails extend from the hindwings.

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Did You Know?

This species has been recorded flying at heights exceeding 30 meters in the forest canopy, rarely descending to ground level.

Emerald Cockroach Wasp

A brilliant emerald-green wasp that zombifies cockroaches. It delivers precise stings to the cockroachs brain, removing its escape reflex. Then leads it by the antenna like a dog on a leash.

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Did You Know?

The emerald cockroach wasp performs neurosurgery — it stings a cockroach twice in precise brain locations to disable its escape reflex, then walks it to a burrow like a zombie.