Tuxentius calice

Tuxentius calice
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Lycaenidae
Genus:	Tuxentius
Species:	T. calice
Binomial name
Tuxentius calice (Hopffer, 1855)[1]
Synonyms
Lycaena calice Hopffer, 1855 Castalius calice Castalius gregorii Butler, 1894

Tuxentius calice, the 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. 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 calice calice (South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana, Zambia, southern Zaire (Shaba), Angola, Malawi, southern Tanzania)
• Tuxentius calice gregorii (Butler, 1894) (northern Tanzania, central Kenya)

References

1. Tuxentius at Markku Savela's website on Lepidoptera
2. Woodhall, S. Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa, Cape Town: Struik Publishers, 2005.