The Cheritrini are a small

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confli ...

of butterflies 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 ...

Lycaenidae Lycaenidae is the second-largest family of butterflies (behind Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflies), with over 6,000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies. They constitute about 30% of the known butterf ...

; they contain the imperials and allies. Their closest living relatives seem to be the

Horagini The Horagini are a small tribe of butterflies in the family Lycaenidae. '' Ahmetia'' (formerly called ''Cowania''), sometimes placed here, rather seems to belong to the Cheritrini however, but these are probably the Horagini's closest living r ...

; indeed, the genus ''

Ahmetia ''Ahmetia achaja'' is a butterfly species in the family Lycaenidae. It belongs to the monotypic genus ''Ahmetia'', formerly known as ''Cowania'' (which actually refers to a tachina fly genus). It is sometimes assigned to the tribe Horagini, but i ...

'' (formerly called ''Cowania'') was in the past often placed there.See Brower (2008) and the references in Savela (2009)

Genera

As not all

Theclinae The subfamily Theclinae is a group of butterflies, often referred to as hairstreaks, with some species instead known as elfins or by other names. The group is part of the family Lycaenidae, the "gossamer-winged butterflies". There are many tropi ...

have been assigned to tribes, the genus list is preliminary. '' Dapidodigma'', sometimes allied with the

Loxurini The Loxurini are a small tribe of butterflies in the family Lycaenidae. Genera As not all Theclinae have been assigned to tribes, the genus list is preliminary. '' Dapidodigma'', sometimes placed here, rather seems to belong to the Cheritrini ...

instead (though this seems to be in error), is the most basal living genus of Cheritrini. The others seem to form a close-knit and more

apomorph In phylogenetics, an apomorphy (or derived trait) is a novel character or character state that has evolved from its ancestral form (or plesiomorphy). A synapomorphy is an apomorphy shared by two or more taxa and is therefore hypothesized to have ...

ic radiation. * ''

'' (formerly ''Cowania'') * '' Cheritra'' – typical imperials * '' Cheritrella'' – truncate Imperial * '' Dapidodigma'' * '' Drupadia'' – posies * '' Ritra'' * '' Ticherra'' – blue imperial

Footnotes

References

* (2008): Tree of Life Web Project &ndash
Cheritrini
Version of 2008-APR-24. Retrieved 2009-AUG-10. * (2009)

Version of 2009-FEB-05. Retrieved 2009-AUG-10. Theclinae Butterfly tribes {{Theclinae-stub