Zintha
Encyclopedia
Zintha is a butterfly
genus
in the family
Lycaenidae
. It is monotypic
, with the only species being Zintha hintza, the Blue-eyed Pierrot, Blue Pied Pierrot or Hintza Blue. The pied pierrots proper are the closely related genus Tuxentius
, however, but like Zintha they were formerly included in Castalius
.
The wingspan
is 24-28 mm for males and 24-27 mm for females. Adults are on wing from September to April.
The larvae feed on Ziziphus
species, including Ziziphus zeheriana and Ziziphus mucronata
.
. Three subspecies
are recognized:
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...
genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by 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...
. It is monotypic
Monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...
, with the only species being Zintha hintza, the Blue-eyed Pierrot, Blue Pied Pierrot or Hintza Blue. The pied pierrots proper are the closely related genus Tuxentius
Tuxentius
Tuxentius is a butterfly genus in the family Lycaenidae. They are commonly known as pied pierrots or pies. Contained in this genus are the African species formerly placed in Castalius, except the Blue-eyed Pierrot which is separated in Zintha.-Species:The members of genus Tuxentius are:* Tuxentius...
, however, but like Zintha they were formerly included in Castalius
Castalius
Castalius is a butterfly genus in the family Lycaenidae. They are commonly known as pierrots. This name is also often used for the very closely related genus Tarucus....
.
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 24-28 mm for males and 24-27 mm for females. Adults are on wing from September to April.
The larvae feed on 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, including Ziziphus zeheriana and 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:...
.
Distribution and subspecies
This butterfly occurs in tropical eastern and southern AfricaAfrica
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...
. Three subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
are recognized:
- Zintha hintza hintza (Trimen, 1864)
- South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
to KenyaKenyaKenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, possibly ZaireZaireThe Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...
- Zintha hintza krooni (Dickson, 1973)
- NamibiaNamibiaNamibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
and adjacent regions- Zintha hintza resplendens (Butler, 1876)
- EthiopiaEthiopiaEthiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
and adjacent regions