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. The pied Pierrots proper are the closely related genus Tuxentius, however, and like Zintha they were formerly included in Castalius.[1]

Blue-eyed Pierrot
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Lycaenidae
Subfamily: Polyommatinae
Tribe: Polyommatini
Genus: Zintha
Eliot, 1973
Species:
Z. hintza
Binomial name
Zintha hintza
(Trimen, 1864)
Synonyms
  • Castalius hintza (Trimen, 1864)
  • Lycaena hintza Trimen, 1864
  • Castalius hintza krooni Dickson, 1973
  • Castalius resplendens Butler, 1876

Description
Imago in South Africa
A group mud-puddling

The wingspan is 24–28 mm for males and 24–27 mm for females. Adults are on wing from September to April.[2]

Food plants

The larvae feed on Ziziphus species, including Z. zeheriana and Z. mucronata.

Distribution and subspecies

This butterfly occurs in tropical eastern and southern Africa. Three subspecies are recognized:[3]

  • Zintha hintza hintza (Trimen, 1864) – South Africa to Kenya, possibly Zaire
  • Zintha hintza krooni (Dickson, 1973) – Namibia and adjacent regions
  • Zintha hintza resplendens (Butler, 1876) – Ethiopia and adjacent regions

Footnotes
  1. Brower (2008), and see references in Savela (2007)
  2. Woodhall, Steve (2005). Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN 978-1-86872-724-7.
  3. See references in Savela (2007)

References
  • Data related to Zintha at Wikispecies


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