Tuxentius melaena

Species of butterfly

Black pie


Upper and underside of the nominate subspecies
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Lycaenidae
Genus:	Tuxentius
Species:	T. melaena
Binomial name
*Tuxentius melaena* (Trimen, 1887)^[1]

approximate range
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 family Lycaenidae. 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 (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

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tuxentius melaena.

Wikispecies has information related to Tuxentius melaena.

^ 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.