Tuxentius melaena

Black pie
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Euarthropoda
Class:Insecta
Order:Lepidoptera
Family:Lycaenidae
Genus:Tuxentius
Species: T. melaena
Binomial name
Tuxentius melaena
(Trimen, 1887)[1]
Synonyms
  • Lycaena melaena Trimen, 1887
  • Castalius melaena
  • Lycaena griqua Trimen, 1887
  • Cupido melas Aurivillius, 1924

Tuxentius melaena, the black pie or dark pied Pierrot, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Africa.

The wingspan is 19–24 mm for males and 21–25 mm for females. Adults are on wing year-round, but are most common from October to March.[2]

The larvae feed on Ziziphus mucronata and probably other Ziziphus species.

Subspecies

  • Tuxentius melaena melaena
Range: South Africa (from Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal coast, inland to Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and North West) to Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia
  • Tuxentius melaena griqua (Trimen, 1887)
Range: Northern Cape, South Africa

References

  1. ↑ Tuxentius at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
  2. ↑ Woodhall, Steve (2005). Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN 978-1-86872-724-7.


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