Tuxentius cretosus

Tuxentius cretosus, the savanna pied Pierrot, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Senegal, the Gambia, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda and Kenya.[2] The habitat consists of dry savanna and Guinea savanna.

Tuxentius cretosus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Lycaenidae
Genus: Tuxentius
Species:
T. cretosus
Binomial name
Tuxentius cretosus
(Butler, 1876)[1]
Synonyms
  • Castalius cretosus Butler, 1876
  • Castalius lactinatus Butler, 1886
  • Lycaena nodieri Oberthür, 1883
  • Castalius anomalogramma Bethune-Baker, 1911
  • Castalius usemia Neave, 1904

The larval host plant also serves as the nectar source for the adults. Adult males mud-puddle.

The larvae feed on Ziziphus jujuba. They feed on the underside of the leaves of the host plant, eating only the outer cortex and never through the leaf.

Subspecies
  • Tuxentius cretosus cretosus (Ethiopia, coast of Kenya)
  • Tuxentius cretosus lactinatus (Butler, 1886) (Somalia)
  • Tuxentius cretosus nodieri (Oberthür, 1883) (Senegal, the Gambia, Burkina Faso, northern Ghana, Mali, northern Nigeria, northern Cameroon)
  • Tuxentius cretosus usemia (Neave, 1904) (Uganda, northern and western Kenya)

References
  1. Tuxentius at Markku Savela's website on Lepidoptera
  2. Afrotropical Butterflies: Lycaenidae - Tribe Polyommatini (part 1)


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