''Adelpha bredowii'', the Bredow's sister, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprise ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Nymphalidae The Nymphalidae are the largest family of butterflies, with more than 6,000 species distributed throughout most of the world. Belonging to the superfamily Papilionoidea, they are usually medium-sized to large butterflies. Most species have a red ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to western, central, and southern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. ''Adelpha bredowii'' belongs to the ''serpa'' species group in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

Adelpha ''Adelpha'' is a genus of brush-footed butterflies found from the southern United States and Mexico to South America. They are commonly known as sisters, due to the white markings on their wings, which resemble a nun's habit. This genus is someti ...

'' (sisters). ''Adelpha bredowii'' previously included two subspecies, the California sister (''Adelpha bredowii californica'') and the Arizona sister (''Adelpha bredowii eulalia''). Recent

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

studies, however, conclude that morphological, geographical, and genetic evidence make it clear that these are correctly separate species. They have been reclassified as the species ''

Adelpha californica ''Adelpha californica'', the California sister, is a species of butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. They are common in California, but can also be found in western Nevada and Oregon, as well as in northern Baja California. The upper surfaces of ...

'' and ''

Adelpha eulalia ''Adelpha eulalia'', the Arizona sister, is a species of butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It occurs from at least Guatemala and Mexico to the southwestern United States, including southeastern California, Arizona, New Mexico, and southern T ...

'', respectively.

References

Adelpha Nymphalidae of South America Butterflies described in 1837 Taxa named by Carl Geyer {{Nymphalidae-stub