Tuxentius melaena

Tuxentius melaena

Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
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 Lycaenidae family. 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 (South Africa (East Cape to KwaZulu-Natal coast, then into Gauteng, Mpumalanga, the Limpopo Province and North West Province) to Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia)
Tuxentius melaena griqua (Trimen, 1887) (North Cape)

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↑ Tuxentius at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and some other life forms
↑ Woodhall, S. Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa, Cape Town: Struik Publishers, 2005.

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