Tarucus sybaris

Tarucus sybaris
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Lycaenidae
Genus:	Tarucus
Species:	T. sybaris
Binomial name
Tarucus sybaris (Hopffer, 1855)[1]
Synonyms
Lycaena sybaris Hopffer, 1855 Cupido linearis Aurivillius, 1925

The Dotted Blue (Tarucus sybaris) is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found in southern Africa.

The wingspan is 22-26 mm for males and 20-27 mm for females. Adults are on wing year round, with a peak from November to March.^[2]

The larvae feed on Ziziphus species, including Ziziphus zeyheriana and Ziziphus mucronata.

Subspecies

• Tarucus sybaris sybaris (South Africa (East Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, eastern Orange Free State, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo Province and North West Province), Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi)
• Tarucus sybaris linearis (Aurivillius, 1924) (North Cape, western Orange Free State, Namibia, Angola, Botswana)

References

1. ^ Tarucus, Site of Markku Savela
2. ^ Woodhall, S. Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa, Cape Town: Struik Publishers, 2005.