Tarucus balkanicus, the Balkan Pierrot or little tiger blue, is a small butterfly that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family. They inhabit parts of West Africa, East Africa, the Middle East, North Africa, the Balkans, western and parts of central Asia, and arid savanna.Afrotropical Butterflies: Lycaenidae - Tribe Polyommatini (part 1)
Their larvae feed on the Jerusalem thorn trees and on Ziziphus lotus.
Subspecies T. b. balkanicus (Mauritania, Niger: Aïr region, Sudan, Uganda, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Algeria, South East Europe, Asia Minor, Middle East, Syria, Iran, North Africa) T. b. areshana Bethune-Baker, (Kopet-Dagh) T. b. alternatus Moore, 1882 (Ghissar, Darvaz) T. b. nigra Bethune-Baker, 1918- Black-spotted pierrot (Baluchistan, Saurasthtra, Delhi, Peshawar, Simla Hills, C.India)
Description
Underside Tailed. White with a prominent black streak from the base of both wings. Markings normally black. Continuous sub-marginal bands of connected black streaks.
Topside Male: discal spots and spot at cell-end on forewing. Mostly dark blue with a narrow border.
Female: Brownish grey with dark markings.
See also Lycaenidae List of butterflies of India List of butterflies of India (Lycaenidae)
References
Further reading Evans, W.H. (1932) The Identification of Indian Moths. (2nd Ed), Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, India Gaonkar, Harish (1996) Moths of the Western Ghats, India (including Sri Lanka) - A Biodiversity Assessment of a threatened mountain system. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. Gay, Thomas; Kehimkar, Isaac & Punetha, J.C.(1992) Common Moths of India. WWF-India and Oxford University Press, Mumbai, India. Haribal, Meena (1994) Moths of Sikkim Himalaya and their Natural History. Kunte, Krushnamegh (2005) Moths of Peninsular India. Universities Press. Wynter-Blyth, M.A. (1957) Moths of the Indian Region, Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, India.