''Feniseca tarquinius'', the harvester, is a

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 ...

of the family

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 ...

, and the only member of the

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

genus ''Feniseca''. It is found in eastern North America. This butterfly is the only carnivorous (i.e., insectivorous) butterfly in North America (there are a handful of carnivorous moths, for example '' Fulgoraecia exigua''). The larvae feed on various aphids, such as '' Neoprociphilus'', ''

Pemphigus Pemphigus ( or ) is a rare group of blistering autoimmune diseases that affect the skin and mucous membranes. The name is derived from the Greek root ''pemphix'', meaning "pustule". In pemphigus, autoantibodies form against desmoglein, whi ...

'', '' Prociphilus'', and '' Schizoneura''. It is found in early spring until fall and is generally scarce. It lives in wooded areas near streams close to

alder Alders are trees comprising the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus comprises about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few sp ...

s. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan o ...

is 23–32 mm. Another butterfly which is possibly carnivorous is '' Celastrina serotina''. It feeds on galls on

black cherry ''Prunus serotina'', commonly called black cherry,World Economic Plants: A Standard Reference, Second Edition'. CRC Press; 19 April 2016. . p. 833–. wild black cherry, rum cherry, or mountain black cherry, is a deciduous tree or shrub of the ...

and possibly also on the eriophid mites that make the galls.Pavulaan, H. ''Celastrina serotina'' (Lycaenidae: Polyommatinae): a New Butterfly Species from the Northeastern United States and Eastern Canada.
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References

External links

Harvester
Butterflies and Moths of North America

at Markku Savela's website on Lepidoptera
Bugguide.net. Species ''Feniseca tarquinius'' - Harvester - Hodges#4249
Miletinae Butterflies of North America Taxa named by Augustus Radcliffe Grote Monotypic butterfly genera Lycaenidae genera {{Miletinae-stub