Tarucus rosacea, the Mediterranean Pierrot or Mediterranean tiger blue, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Mauritania, Senegal, the Gambia, Guinea, Burkina Faso, northern Ivory Coast, northern Ghana, northern Nigeria, Niger, northern Cameroon, Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia, northern Uganda, north-western Kenya, Somalia, Djibouti and Arabia.[2] The habitat consists of Sudan savanna and the Sahel.

Tarucus rosacea
In Zighy Bay, Musandam Peninsula, Oman
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Lycaenidae
Genus: Tarucus
Species:
T. rosacea
Binomial name
Tarucus rosacea
(Austaut, 1885)[1]
Synonyms
  • Lycaena theophrastus var. rosacea Austaut, 1885
  • Tarucus mediterraneae Bethune-Baker, 1918

Adults feed from the flowers of Ziziphus species.

The larvae feed on Ziziphus jujuba. They are associated with ants of the Plagiolepis, Camponotus and Monomorium genera.

References

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