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 Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
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
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tuxentius cretosus.
Wikispecies has information related to Tuxentius cretosus.
  1. Tuxentius at Markku Savela's website on Lepidoptera
  2. Afrotropical Butterflies: Lycaenidae - Tribe Polyommatini (part 1)


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