Tuxentius melaena

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

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.

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