''Hypolimnas'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of tropical brush-footed butterflies commonly known as eggflies or diadems. The genus contains approximately 23

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 ...

, most of which are found in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

, and

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a region, geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern Hemisphere, Eastern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of ...

. One species, the

Danaid eggfly ''Hypolimnas misippus'', the Danaid eggfly, mimic, or diadem, is a widespread species of nymphalid butterfly. It is well known for polymorphism and mimicry. Males are blackish with distinctive white spots that are fringed in blue. Females are i ...

(''H. misippus''), is noted for its exceptionally wide distribution across five

continents A continent is any of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven geographical regions are commonly regarded as continents. Ordered from largest in area to smallest, these seven ...

; it is the only ''Hypolimnas'' species found in the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

. Eggflies are known for their marked

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...

and

Batesian mimicry Batesian mimicry is a form of mimicry where a harmless species has evolved to imitate the warning signals of a harmful species directed at a predator of them both. It is named after the English naturalist Henry Walter Bates, after his work on bu ...

poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

ous milkweed butterflies (Danainae). For example, the Danaid eggfly mimics '' Danaus chrysippus'' while the

great eggfly ''Hypolimnas bolina'', the great eggfly, common eggfly, varied eggfly or in New Zealand the blue moon butterfly is a species of nymphalid butterfly found from Madagascar to Asia and Australia. Appearance Race ''bolina'' ''H. bolina'' is a blac ...

(''H. bolina'') mimics the Australian crow (''Euploea core''). In each case, the eggfly mimics the danainid's markings, thus adopting the latter's distasteful reputation to

predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

s without being poisonous itself.

Species

Listed alphabetically: "''Hypolimnas'' Hübner, [1819]"
at Markku Savela's ''Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms'' *''Hypolimnas alimena">819]""> "''Hypolimnas'' Hübner, [1819]"
at Markku Savela's ''Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms'' *''Hypolimnas alimena'' (Linnaeus, 1758) – blue-banded eggfly *''Hypolimnas anomala'' (Wallace, 1869) – Malayan eggfly *''Hypolimnas antevorta'' (Distant, 1880) *''Hypolimnas anthedon'' (Doubleday, 1845) – variable eggfly or variable diadem *''

Hypolimnas antilope ''Hypolimnas antilope'', the spotted crow eggfly, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found from Malaya to the Philippines, New Guinea and Australia. The larvae feed on ''Asystasia'', '' Graptophyllum'', ''Pseuderanthemum'', '' Oreoc ...

'' (Cramer,

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– spotted crow eggfly *''

Hypolimnas aubergeri ''Hypolimnas aubergeri'', the Côte d'Ivoire eggfly, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Guinea (the Nimba Mountains), eastern and central Ivory Coast (French: ''Côte d'Ivoire'') and possibly Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana ...

'' Hecq, 1987 – Côte d'Ivoire eggfly *''

Hypolimnas aurifascia ''Hypolimnas'' is a genus of tropical brush-footed butterflies commonly known as eggflies or diadems. The genus contains approximately 23 species, most of which are found in Africa, Asia, and Oceania. One species, the Danaid eggfly (''H. misipp ...

'' Mengel, 1903 *''

Hypolimnas bartelotti ''Hypolimnas bartelotti'' is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found from Cameroon to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in western Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or ...

'' Grose-Smith, 1890 *''

Hypolimnas bolina ''Hypolimnas bolina'', the great eggfly, common eggfly, varied eggfly or in New Zealand the blue moon butterfly is a species of nymphalid butterfly found from Madagascar to Asia and Australia. Appearance Race ''bolina'' ''H. bolina'' is a blac ...

'' (Linnaeus, 1758) – common eggfly or great eggfly *''

Hypolimnas chapmani ''Hypolimnas chapmani'', the Chapman's eggfly, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in eastern Nigeria and Cameroon. The habitat consists of primary forests. Adults are probably mimics of ''Acraea umbra''. References

...

'' (Hewitson, 1873) – Chapman's eggfly *'' Hypolimnas deceptor'' (Trimen, 1873) – deceptive eggfly *''

Hypolimnas deois ''Hypolimnas'' is a genus of tropical brush-footed butterflies commonly known as eggflies or diadems. The genus contains approximately 23 species, most of which are found in Africa, Asia, and Oceania. One species, the Danaid eggfly (''H. misippu ...

'' Hewitson, 1858 *''

Hypolimnas dexithea ''Hypolimnas dexithea'' (Madagascar diadem) is a species of ''Hypolimnas'' butterfly endemic to Madagascar. The species was described in 1863 by William Chapman Hewitson from a specimen collected by J. Caldwell from Antananarivo in Madagascar. I ...

'' (Hewitson, 1863) – Madagascar diadem *''

Hypolimnas dinarcha ''Hypolimnas dinarcha'', the large variable diadem or large variable eggfly, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, Angola, the Demo ...

'' (Hewitson, 1865) – large variable diadem or large variable eggfly *''

Hypolimnas diomea ''Hypolimnas'' is a genus of tropical brush-footed butterflies commonly known as eggflies or diadems. The genus contains approximately 23 species, most of which are found in Africa, Asia, and Oceania. One species, the Danaid eggfly (''H. misippu ...

'' Hewitson, 1861 *''

Hypolimnas dimona ''Hypolimnas'' is a genus of tropical brush-footed butterflies commonly known as eggflies or diadems. The genus contains approximately 23 species, most of which are found in Africa, Asia, and Oceania. One species, the Danaid eggfly (''H. misippu ...

'' Fruhstorfer, 1912 *''

Hypolimnas euploeoides ''Hypolimnas'' is a genus of tropical brush-footed butterflies commonly known as eggflies or diadems. The genus contains approximately 23 species, most of which are found in Africa, Asia, and Oceania. One species, the Danaid eggfly (''H. misippu ...

'' Rothschild, 1915 *''

Hypolimnas fraterna ''Hypolimnas'' is a genus of tropical brush-footed butterflies commonly known as eggflies or diadems. The genus contains approximately 23 species, most of which are found in Africa, Asia, and Oceania. One species, the Danaid eggfly (''H. misippu ...

'' Wallace, 1869 *'' Hypolimnas inopinata'' Waterhouse, 1920 *''

Hypolimnas macarthuri ''Hypolimnas macarthuri'' is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in the Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to th ...

'' Neidhoefer, 1972 *'' Hypolimnas mechowi'' (Dewitz, 1884) *''

Hypolimnas misippus ''Hypolimnas misippus'', the Danaid eggfly, mimic, or diadem, is a widespread species of nymphalid butterfly. It is well known for polymorphism and mimicry. Males are blackish with distinctive white spots that are fringed in blue. Females are i ...

'' (Linnaeus, 1764) – mimic, Danaid eggfly, or diadem *''

Hypolimnas monteironis ''Hypolimnas monteironis'', the black-tipped diadem or scarce blue diadem, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. The species was first described by Herbert Druce in 1874. It is found in Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, An ...

'' (Druce, 1874) – black-tipped diadem or scarce blue diadem *''

Hypolimnas octocula ''Hypolimnas octocula'', the eight-spot butterfly, is a species of eggfly or diadem endemic to several islands and island chains in Oceania, including New Caledonia, Vanuatu and the Mariana Islands The Mariana Islands (; also the Marianas; i ...

'' Butler, 1869 – eight-spot diadem *''

Hypolimnas pandarus ''Hypolimnas pandarus'' is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. Distribution This species is present in the Indonesia (Ambon Island, Serang, S ...

'' (Linnaeus, 1758) *''

Hypolimnas pithoeca ''Hypolimnas pithoeca'' is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in New Guinea. Subspecies *''Hypolimnas pithoeca pithoeca'' Kirsch, 1877 (New Guinea) *''Hypolimnas pithoeca bradleyi'' Howarth, 1962 (Rennell Island) *''Hypolimnas p ...

'' Kirsch, 1877 *''

Hypolimnas salmacis ''Hypolimnas salmacis'', the blue diadem, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, São ...

'' (Druce, 1773) – blue diadem *''

Hypolimnas saundersii ''Hypolimnas'' is a genus of tropical brush-footed butterflies commonly known as eggflies or diadems. The genus contains approximately 23 species, most of which are found in Africa, Asia, and Oceania. One species, the Danaid eggfly (''H. misippu ...

'' (Hewitson, 1869) *''

Hypolimnas usambara ''Hypolimnas usambara'', the red spot diadem or Usambara diadem, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found along the coast of Kenya and in Tanzania, from the coast inland to the Usambara Mountains of Tanga Region. The habitat consist ...

'' (Ward, 1872) – red spot diadem or Usambara diadem

References

*Lewis, H. L. (1974). ''Butterflies of the World''. *Miller, L. D., and Miller, J. Y. (2004). ''The Butterfly Handbook'', pp. 134–135. Barron's Educational Series, Inc.; Hauppauge, New York. *Wynter-Blyth, M. A. (1957). ''Butterflies of the Indian Region''. (1982 Reprint)
Seitz, A. ''Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde'' 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 42 et seq.

External links

Images representing ''Hypolimnas''
at Consortium for the Barcode of Life {{Taxonbar, from=Q2713414 Kallimini Taxa named by Jacob Hübner Butterfly genera