Tuxentius melaena explained

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.^[1]

Taxonomic status of the species remains uncertain due to significant variations noted across individual specimens.^[2]

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.^{[3] [4]}

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

Notes and References

1. Book: Woodhall, Steve . Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa . 2005 . Cape Town, South Africa . Struik . 978-1-86872-724-7 .
2. Terblanche . R. . 1994 . The little hairtail from the Kalahari . Metamorphosis . The Lepidopterists' Society of Africa . 5 . 4 . 173-174.
3. Book: Pringle, E.L.L. . Pennington’s butterflies of southern Africa . Henning . G.A. . Ball . J.B. . Struik Winchester . 1994 . 9780947430467 . Cape Town . 32270879.
4. Krüger . M. . 2000 . A review of the afrotropical Cabera subalba group, with description of the first Southern African species (Lepidoptera: Geometridae: Ennominae) . Metamorphosis . The Lepidopterists' Society of Africa . 11 . 3 . 111-121 . 2307-5031 . Lepsoc.