Tuxentius melaena

Tuxentius melaena
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Lycaenidae
Genus:	Tuxentius
Species:	T. melaena
Binomial name
	Tuxentius melaena; (Trimen, 1887)
Synonyms
	Lycaena melaena Trimen, 1887; Castalius melaena; Lycaena griqua Trimen, 1887; Cupido melas Aurivillius, 1924;

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.^[2]

The larvae feed on Ziziphus mucronata and probably other Ziziphus 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)

^ Tuxentius, Site of Markku Savela
^ Woodhall, S. Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa, Cape Town: Struik Publishers, 2005.

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