| Black pie | |
|---|---|
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| Upper and underside of the nominate subspecies | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Lycaenidae |
| Genus: | Tuxentius |
| Species: | T. melaena |
| Binomial name | |
| Tuxentius melaena (Trimen, 1887) | |
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| approximate range | |
| Synonyms | |
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Tuxentius melaena, the black pie or dark pied Pierrot, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Africa.
Description
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.
Taxonomic status of the species remains uncertain due to significant variations noted across individual specimens.
Appearance
Males of subspecies Tuxentius melaena griqua are characterised by having faint, dark markings on a dirty- yellow base color, on the dorsal region. There are minimal white markings on that side, which are distinctive but subtle. Whereas the female specimens contain reduced black markings on their ventral region. On the upperside of the hindwing, they feature expanded white markings. Individual variations are also detected within subspecies.
Habitat and behavior
The larvae feed on Ziziphus mucronata and probably other Ziziphus species.
Subspecies
- Tuxentius melaena melaena — 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) — Northern Cape, South Africa
References
- Tuxentius at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
- Woodhall, Steve (2005). Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN 978-1-86872-724-7.
- Terblanche, R. (1994). "The little hairtail from the Kalahari". Metamorphosis. 5 (4). The Lepidopterists' Society of Africa: 173–174.
- Pringle, E.L.L.; Henning, G.A.; Ball, J.B. (1994). Pennington’s butterflies of southern Africa. Cape Town: Struik Winchester. ISBN 9780947430467. OCLC 32270879.
- Krüger, M. (2000). "A review of the afrotropical Cabera subalba group, with description of the first Southern African species (Lepidoptera: Geometridae: Ennominae)". Metamorphosis. 11 (3). The Lepidopterists' Society of Africa: 111–121. ISSN 2307-5031 – via Lepsoc.
| Taxon identifiers | |
|---|---|
| Tuxentius melaena | |
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