Tuxentius
Encyclopedia
Tuxentius is a butterfly
genus
in the family
Lycaenidae
. They are commonly known as pied pierrots or pies. Contained in this genus are the Africa
n species formerly placed in Castalius
, except the Blue-eyed Pierrot (sometimes called Blue Pied Pierrot) which is separated in Zintha
.
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Lycaenidae
Lycaenidae
The Lycaenidae are the second-largest family of butterflies, with about 6000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies...
. They are commonly known as pied pierrots or pies. Contained in this genus are the Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n species formerly placed in Castalius
Castalius
Castalius is a butterfly genus in the family Lycaenidae. They are commonly known as pierrots. This name is also often used for the very closely related genus Tarucus....
, except the Blue-eyed Pierrot (sometimes called Blue Pied Pierrot) which is separated in Zintha
Zintha
Zintha is a butterfly genus in the family Lycaenidae. It is monotypic, with the only species being Zintha hintza, the Blue-eyed Pierrot, Blue Pied Pierrot or Hintza Blue...
.
Species
The members of genus Tuxentius are:- Tuxentius caliceTuxentius caliceThe White Pie is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found in Africa.The wingspan is 21-24 mm for males and 21-25 mm for females...
(Hopffer, 1855) - Tuxentius carana (Hewitson, 1876)
- Tuxentius cretosus (Butler, 1876)
- Tuxentius ertli (Aurivillius, 1907)
- Tuxentius gabrieli Balint, 1999
- Tuxentius hesperisTuxentius hesperisThe Western Pie is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found in South Africa, where it is only known from Globlershoop and Vioolsdrif and along the banks of the Orange River in the North Cape....
(Vári, 1976) - Tuxentius interruptus (Gabriel, 1954)
- Tuxentius kaffana (Talbot, 1935)
- Tuxentius margaritaceus (Sharpe, 1892)
- Tuxentius melaenaTuxentius melaenaThe Black Pie or Dark Pied Pierrot 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...
(Trimen, 1887) – Dark Pied Pierrot - Tuxentius stempfferi (Kielland, 1976)