Tarucus sybaris

Tarucus sybaris, the dotted blue, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in southern Africa.

Dotted blue
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
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 Tarucus sybaris f. vreuricki Dufrane, 1954

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 Z. zeyheriana and Z. mucronata.

Tarucus sybaris sybaris in Spioenkop Dam N. R., South Africa

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 at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
2. Woodhall, Steve (2005). Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN 978-1-86872-724-7.