''Tuxentius cretosus'', the savanna pied Pierrot, is a
butterfly
Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...
in the family
Lycaenidae
Lycaenidae is the second-largest family of butterflies (behind Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflies), with over 6,000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies. They constitute about 30% of the known butterfl ...
. It is found in
Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 井仆井內丐中五 (Senegaali); Arabic: 塈堻媞塈 ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''R矇ewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 井仆不丐仆不五 ...
,
the Gambia
The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, 媞塈堥塈 officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...
,
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 今云仇五仆丐 丐之亢, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...
,
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
,
Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 井仆不丐仆不五 丐中五, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, 堿堭堜 塈, Jumh贖riyyt Ml蘋 is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...
,
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Na穫j穩r穩y, yo, N穫j穩r穩, pcm, Naij獺 , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
,
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: R矇publique du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
,
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, Ｓ菲桑菲, tiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
,
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: ; ar, 塈媯塈, a廜-廜〣匍l officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
,
Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...
and
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
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, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
.
[Afrotropical Butterflies: Lycaenidae - Tribe Polyommatini (part 1)]
/ref> The habitat consists of dry savanna and Guinea savanna
Guinea ( ),, fuf, 五仆井, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, 葶舝葖, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: R矇publique de Guin矇e), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
.
The larval host plant also serves as the nectar source for the adults. Adult males mud-puddle.
The larvae feed on ''Ziziphus jujuba
Jujube (), sometimes jujuba, known by the scientific name ''Ziziphus jujuba'' and also called red date, Chinese date, and Chinese jujube, is a species in the genus ''Ziziphus'' in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae.
Description
It is a small ...
''. 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'' (Oberth羹r, 1883) (Senegal, the Gambia, Burkina Faso, northern Ghana, Mali, northern Nigeria, northern Cameroon)
*''Tuxentius cretosus usemia'' (Neave, 1904) (Uganda, northern and western Kenya)
References
Butterflies described in 1876
Polyommatini
Butterflies of Africa
Taxa named by Arthur Gardiner Butler
{{Polyommatini-stub