Tuxentius melaena
Encyclopedia
The Black Pie or Dark Pied Pierrot (Tuxentius melaena) 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.
The larvae feed on Ziziphus mucronata
and probably other Ziziphus
species.
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
of the Lycaenidae
Lycaenidae
The Lycaenidae are the second-largest family of butterflies, with about 6000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies...
family. It is found in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.
The wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
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.
The larvae feed on Ziziphus mucronata
Ziziphus mucronata
Ziziphus mucronata, known as the Buffalo Thorn, "blinkblaar-wag-'n-bietjie" in Afrikaans and "mphasamhala" in Tsonga, is a species in the Rhamnaceae family.-Appearance and distribution:...
and probably other Ziziphus
Ziziphus
Ziziphus is a genus of about 40 species of spiny shrubs and small trees in the buckthorn family, Rhamnaceae, distributed in the warm-temperate and subtropical regions throughout the world. The leaves are alternate, entire, with three prominent basal veins, and long; some species are deciduous,...
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)