Mixing
Lycaenidae
| Lycaenidae | |
|---|---|
 | |
| The large blue, a lycaenid butterfly | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Euarthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Superfamily: | Papilionoidea |
| Family: | Lycaenidae Leach, 1815 |
Subfamilies | |
and see text or List of lycaenid genera | |
Lycaenidae is the second-largest family of butterflies (behind Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflies), with over 6,000 species worldwide,[1] whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies. They constitute about 30% of the known butterfly species.
The family is traditionally divided into the subfamilies of the blues (Polyommatinae), the coppers (Lycaeninae), the hairstreaks (Theclinae) and the harvesters (Miletinae).
Adults are small, under 5 cm usually, and brightly coloured, sometimes with a metallic gloss.
Larvae are often flattened rather than cylindrical, with glands that may produce secretions that attract and subdue ants. Their cuticles tend to be thickened. Some larvae are capable of producing vibrations and low sounds that are transmitted through the substrates they inhabit. They use these sounds to communicate with ants.[2][3]
Adult individuals often have hairy antenna-like tails complete with black and white annulated (ringed) appearance. Many species also have a spot at the base of the tail and some turn around upon landing to confuse potential predators from recognizing the true head orientation. This causes predators to approach from the true head end resulting in early visual detection.[4]
Contents
1 Ecology
2 Subfamilies
3 See also
4 References
5 Further reading
6 External links
Ecology
Ant tending a lycaenid larva
Lycaenids are diverse in their food habits and apart from phytophagy, some of them are entomophagous feeding on aphids, scale insects, and ant larvae. Some lycaenids even exploit their association with ants by inducing ants to feed them by regurgitation, a process called trophallaxis. Not all lycaenid butterflies need ants, but about 75% of species associate with ants,[2] a relationship called myrmecophily. These associations can be mutualistic, parasitic, or predatory depending on the species.
In some species, larvae are attended and protected by ants while feeding on the host plant, and the ants receive sugar-rich honeydew from them, throughout the larval life, and in some species during the pupal stage. In other species, only the first few instars are spent on the plant, and the remainder of the larval lifespan is spent as a predator within the ant nest. It becomes a parasite, feeding on ant regurgitations, or a predator on the ant larvae.[2] The caterpillars pupate inside the ant's nest and the ants continue to look after the pupa. Just before the adult emerges the wings of the butterfly inside the pupal case detach from it, and the pupa becomes silvery. The adult butterfly emerges from the pupa after three to four weeks, still inside the ant nest. The butterfly must crawl out of the ant nest before it can expand its wings.
Several evolutionary adaptations enable these associations and they include small glands on the skin of the caterpillars called "pore cupola organs". Caterpillars of many species, except those of the Riodininae, have a gland on the seventh abdominal segment that produces honeydew and is called the "dorsal nectary gland" (also called "Newcomer's gland"). An eversible organ called the "tentacular organ" is present on the eighth abdominal segment (third segment of thorax in the Riodininae) and this is cylindrical and topped with a ring of spikes and emits chemical signals which are believed to help in communicating with ants.[5]
Subfamilies
Mating Polyommatus semiargus
Caterpillar of the Atala (Eumaeus atala)
Leaf blue (Amblypodia anita) from Theclinae
Many taxonomists include only the Lycaeninae, Theclinae, Polyommatinae, Poritiinae, Miletinae and Curetinae under the Lycaenidae.[6][7]
The tribe Aphnaeini of the subfamily Theclinae which includes the genus Chrysoritis is sometimes listed as separate subfamily.[6]
A few authorities still include the family Riodinidae within the Lycaenidae. The monotypic former subfamily Styginae represented by Styx infernalis from the Peruvian Andes has been placed within the subfamily Euselasiinae[8] of the family Riodinidae.[9]
Other classifications notably include the Riodininae (e.g., Abisara echerius).[10]
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| Phylogeny of the family[9] |
Lipteninae (Afrotropical) may be ranked as a tribe of Poritiinae. (Liptenini) [11]
Poritiinae (Oriental and Afrotropical)
Liphyrinae (mostly African, some Asian) may be ranked as a tribe of Miletinae. (Liphyrini) [12] Selected species
Liphyra brassolis – moth butterfly (largest lycaenid)
Curetinae – sunbeams (Oriental or Palaearctic) selected species
Miletinae – harvesters (mostly African, or Oriental, some Holarctic). Probably all feed on aphids or their secretions.
Curetis thetis – Indian sunbeam
Theclinae – hairstreaks (usually tailed) and elfins (not tailed) (global) may be ranked as a tribe of Lycaeninae (Theclini) see the clade below right. Selected species
Arhopala - oakblues
Atlides halesus – great purple hairstreak
Eumaeus atala – Atala
Satyrium pruni – black hairstreak
Lycaeninae – coppers (Holarctic) selected species
Iophanus pyrrhias – Guatemalan copper
Lycaena boldenarum – boulder copper
Lycaena epixanthe – bog copper
Lycaena rauparaha – Rauparaha's copper
Lycaena dispar – large copper
Lycaena phlaeas – small copper
Lycaena heteronea - blue copper
Polyommatinae – blues (global) selected species
Caleta spp.
Celastrina ladon – spring azure
Chilades - jewel blues
Cupido comyntas – eastern tailed-blue
Cupido minimus – small blue
Euphilotes battoides allyni – El Segundo blue
Euphilotes pallescens arenamontana – Sand Mountain blue
Glaucopsyche lygdamus – silvery blue
Glaucopsyche lygdamus palosverdesensis – Palos Verdes blue
Glaucopsyche xerces (extinct) – Xerces blue
Icaricia icarioides fenderi – Fender's blue
Maculinea arion – large blue- Phengaris xiushani
Polyommatus icarus – common blue
Polyommatus semiargus – mazarine blue
Pseudozizeeria maha – pale grass blue
Plebejus argus – silver-studded blue
Talicada nyseus – red pierrot
The fossil genus Lithodryas is usually (but not unequivocally) placed here; Lithopsyche is sometimes placed here but sometimes in the Riodininae.
See also
- List of lycaenid genera
References
^ Naomi E. Pierce, Michae, F. Braby, Alan Heath, David J. Lohman, John Mathew, Douglas B. Rand, Mark A. THE ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION OF ANT ASSOCIATION IN THE LYCAENIDAE (LEPIDOPTERA) 47(1):259-267 [1]
^ abc Pierce NE, Braby MF, Heath A, Lohman DJ, Mathew J, Rand DB, Travassos MA. 2002. The ecology and evolution of ant association in the Lycaenidae (Lepidoptera.) Annual Review of Entomology 47: 733-771. PDF
^ DeVries, Philip J. 1992. Singing Caterpillars, Ants and Symbiosis. Scientific American, 267:76
^ Robbins, Robert K. 1981 The "False Head" Hypothesis: Predation and Wing Pattern Variation of Lycaenid Butterflies. American Naturalist, 118(5):770-775
^ Australian Museum factsheets Accessed 4 November 2010 on the Wayback Machine.
^ ab Brower, Andrew V. Z. 2008. Lycaenidae. Version 25 April 2008 (temporary). [2] in The Tree of Life Web Project, [3]
^ Ackery, P. R., R. de Jong, and R. I. Vane-Wright. 1999. The butterflies: Hedyloidea, Hesperioidea, and Papilionoidea. Pages 264-300 in: Lepidoptera: Moths and Butterflies. 1. Evolution, Systematics, and Biogeography. Handbook of Zoology Vol. IV, Part 35. N. P. Kristensen, ed. De Gruyter, Berlin and New York.
^ Hall J.P.W. & Harvey DJ. (2002) A survey of androconial organs in the Riodinidae (Lepidoptera). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 136:171-197
^ ab Brower, Andrew V. Z. 2007. Riodinidae Grote 1895. Metalmarks, Erycinidae Swainson 1827 (see nomenclature section). Version 19 May 2007 [4] in The Tree of Life Web Project, [5]
^ Scoble, MJ. 1992. The Lepidoptera: Form, Function and Diversity. Oxford University Press. .mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
ISBN 0-19-854952-0
^ [6], Site of Markku Savela
^ [7], Site of Markku Savela
Further reading
- Charles A. Bridges, 1994. Catalogue of the family-group, genus-group and species-group names of the Riodinidae & Lycaenidae (Lepidoptera) of the world Urbana, Ill. :C.A. Bridges pdf
- Eliot, J.N.1973 The higher classification of the Lycaenidae] (Lepidoptera): a tentative arrangement. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), entomology, 28: 371-505. 1973: [8]
- Glassberg, Jeffrey Butterflies through Binoculars, The West (2001)
- Guppy, Crispin S. and Shepard, Jon H. Butterflies of British Columbia (2001)
- James, David G. and Nunnallee, David Life Histories of Cascadia Butterflies (2011)
- Pelham, Jonathan Catalogue of the Butterflies of the United States and Canada (2008)
- Pyle, Robert Michael The Butterflies of Cascadia (2002)
External links
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lycaenidae. |
 | Wikispecies has information related to Lycaenidae |
- Tree of Life
- BugGuide.net
- Family Lycaenidae at Lepidoptera.pro
"Lycaenidae". National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).
- ITIS
Lycaenidae at the Encyclopedia of Life
Royal Museum for Central Africa Images of Lycaenidae [9]
- Butterflies and Moths of North America
- Butterflies of America
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