Hedylidae, the "American moth-butterflies", is a

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 ...

of insects in the order

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order of insects that includes butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 families and 46 superfamilies, 10 percent of the total described speci ...

, representing the superfamily Hedyloidea. They have traditionally been viewed as an

extant Extant is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to: * Extant hereditary titles * Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English * Extant taxon, a taxon which is not extinct, ...

sister group In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

of the butterfly superfamily Papilionoidea. In 1986, Scoble combined all species into a single genus ''Macrosoma'', comprising 35 currently recognized and entirely

Neotropical The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bioge ...

species, as a novel concept of

butterflies 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 comprises ...

Taxonomy and systematics

Hedylidae were previously treated as a

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 confl ...

Geometridae The geometer moths are moths belonging to the family Geometridae of the insect order Lepidoptera, the moths and butterflies. Their scientific name derives from the Ancient Greek ''geo'' γεω (derivative form of or "the earth"), and ''metro ...

: Oenochrominae, the "Hedylicae". Prout considered they might even merit treatment as their own family. Scoble first considered them to be a hitherto unrecognised group of butterflies and also suggested Hedylidae might possibly constitute the

of the "true" butterflies ( Papilionoidea), rather than of ( Hesperioidea + Papilionoidea). Weintraub and Miller argued against this placement (but see). In 1995, Weller and Pashley found that molecular data did indeed place Hedylidae with the butterflies and a more comprehensive study in 2005 based on 57 exemplar

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

, three

genes In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...

and 99 morphological characters, recovered the genus ''Macrosoma'' as sister to the ("Papilionoidea" + Hesperioidea). However, the most 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 ...

analyses shows that skippers are true butterflies and therefore within the clade Papilionoidea, whereas the hedylids are a sister group that may be closely related to the obtectomeran moths. This is contrary to some earlier studies that had shown both the skippers and hedylids as being nested within the Papilionoidea. Since there are no obvious gaps between supposed species groups, according to basic morphological structure, Scoble (1986) synonymised the five pre-existing genera of Hedylidae (33 of which had been described in ''Phellinodes'') into just one genus. However, a phylogenetic analysis of all ''Macrosoma'' species is still needed.

Nomenclatural notes

In zoological nomenclature, numerous junior

homonyms In linguistics, homonyms are words which are homographs (words that share the same spelling, regardless of pronunciation), or homophones ( equivocal words, that share the same pronunciation, regardless of spelling), or both. Using this definition ...

of ''Macrosoma'' (Hübner, 1818) exist, (''Macrosoma'' Leach 1819 (a

reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates ( lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalia ...

), ''Macrosoma'' de Haan 1826 (

Odonata Odonata is an order of flying insects that includes the dragonflies and damselflies. Members of the group first appeared during the Triassic, though members of their total group, Odonatoptera, first appeared in Late Carboniferous. The two com ...

), ''Macrosoma'' Robineau-Desvoidy 1830 (''Macrosoma multisulcata'' Berlese 1913 and ''M. floralis'', Diptera: Muscidae), ''Macrosoma'' Brandt 1835 (

Coelenterata Coelenterata is a term encompassing the animal phyla Cnidaria (coral animals, true jellies, sea anemones, sea pens, and their relatives) and Ctenophora (comb jellies). The name comes , referring to the hollow body cavity common to these two phyla ...

), ''Macrosoma'' Hope 1837 (

Coleoptera Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describe ...

), ''Macrosoma'' Lioy 1864 or 1865 (Diptera: Sarcophagidae), Macrosoma Hammer 1979 (''M.rugosa''; Acarina: Oribatidae). To add to this potential confusion in lists of names, there exist two junior homonyms of ''Hedyle'' Guenée, 1857: ''Hedyle'' Bergh, 1895 (

sea slug Sea slug is a common name for some marine invertebrates with varying levels of resemblance to terrestrial slugs. Most creatures known as sea slugs are gastropods, i.e. they are sea snails (marine gastropod mollusks) that over evolutionary tim ...

s in the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...

Opisthobranchia:

superfamily SUPERFAMILY is a database and search platform of structural and functional annotation for all proteins and genomes. It classifies amino acid sequences into known structural domains, especially into SCOP superfamilies. Domains are functional, str ...

"Acochlidioidea",

Hedylopsidae Odhner, 1952 that are currently placed in the genus ''Hedylopsis'' Thiele, 1931), and ''Hedyle'' Malmgren 1865 (a

polychaete Polychaeta () is a paraphyletic class of generally marine annelid worms, commonly called bristle worms or polychaetes (). Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that bear many bristles, called chaetae, which are made ...

worm). The sea slug family name "Hedylidae Bergh, 1895" (type species ''Hedyle weberi'' Bergh, 1895) is thus also invalid.

Morphology and identification

The eggs of hedylid moths have an upright configuration and are variable in shape: in ''Macrosoma inermis'' they are particularly narrow and spindle-shaped,Scoble, M.J. (1990a). A catalogue of the Hedylidae (Lepidoptera: Hedyloidea), with descriptions of two new species. ''Entomologica Scandinavica'', 21: 113-119. resembling those of some

Pieridae The Pieridae are a large family of butterflies with about 76 genera containing about 1,100 species, mostly from tropical Africa and tropical Asia with some varieties in the more northern regions of North America and Eurasia.DeVries P. J. in L ...

, and in the case of ''M. tipulata'' they are more barrel-shaped,Lourido, G., Silva, N.M., Motta, C.S. 2007. Biological Parameters and Damage by ''Macrosoma tipulata'' Hübner (Lepidoptera: Hedylidae), in Cupuaçu tree 'Theobroma grandiflorum'' (Wild ex Spreng Schum)in Amazonas, Brazil. ''Neotropical Entomology'', 36(1):102-106. like certain

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 ...

. The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

e resemble (probably convergently) those of Apaturinae. Adult hedylids resemble

geometer A geometer is a mathematician whose area of study is geometry. Some notable geometers and their main fields of work, chronologically listed, are: 1000 BCE to 1 BCE * Baudhayana (fl. c. 800 BC) – Euclidean geometry, geometric algebra * ...

moths. They share many morphological and genetic characteristics with both the superfamilies Papilionoidea and the Hesperioidea. The

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the to ...

is very long and slim, like many

butterflies of the subfamilies Ithomiinae and Heliconiinae, hence the name of one ''Macrosoma'' species "''heliconiaria''". Unlike other butterflies, however, the antennae are un-

clubbed ''Clubbed'' is a 2008 British drama film about a 1980s factory worker who takes up a job as a club doorman, written by Geoff Thompson and directed by Neil Thompson. Plot In 1984, Danny - a lonely factory worker intimidated by life - is batter ...

, but rather

filiform Filiform, thread or filament like, can refer to: * Filiform, a common term used in botany to describe a thread-like shape *Filiform, or filiform catheter, a medical device whose component parts or segments are all cylindrical and more or less un ...

or bipectinate. Unlike the

, in which they had been placed by the

expert L.B.Prout, hedylids lack tympanic organs at the base of the abdomen, but have them on the wings (see under

Behaviour Behavior (American English) or behaviour (British English) is the range of actions and mannerisms made by individuals, organisms, systems or artificial entities in some environment. These systems can include other systems or organisms as wel ...

). Unlike other butterflies, however (except the unique case of the remarkable Australian skipper butterfly '' Euschemon rafflesia'', whose males possess these structures), the single-spined

frenulum A frenulum (or frenum, plural: frenula or frena, from the Latin ''frēnulum'', "little bridle", the diminutive of ''frēnum'') is a small fold of tissue that secures the motion of a mobile organ in the body. In human anatomy Frenula on the h ...

and

retinaculum A retinaculum (plural ''retinacula'') is a band of thickened deep fascia around tendons that holds them in place. It is not part of any muscle. Its function is mostly to stabilize a tendon. The term retinaculum is New Latin, derived from the Latin ...

are not lost or reduced in males, except in three ''Macrosoma'' species where there is no functional wing coupling system. The retinaculum is always lost in females, and the frenulum may be

vestigial Vestigiality is the retention, during the process of evolution, of genetically determined structures or attributes that have lost some or all of the ancestral function in a given species. Assessment of the vestigiality must generally rely on co ...

. The family have been fully catalogued and illustrated in an identification guide.Scoble, M.J. (1990b). An identification guide to the Hedylidae (Lepidoptera: Hedyloidea). ''Entomologica Scandinavica'', 21: 121-158.

Butterfly-like characteristics of Hedylidae

#" Mesoscutum" with "secondary line of weakness" near median "notal" wing process, as in some representatives of Papilionidea and Hesperioidea (potentially unique butterfly character;de Jong, R., Vane_Wright, R.I. and Ackery, P.R. 1996. The higher classification of butterflies (Lepidoptera): problems and prospects. ''Entomologica Scandinavica'', 27: 65-102. # Mesothoracic

aorta The aorta ( ) is the main and largest artery in the human body, originating from the left ventricle of the heart and extending down to the abdomen, where it splits into two smaller arteries (the common iliac arteries). The aorta distributes o ...

with horizontal chamber, as in other butterflies (not Papilionidae), but as also in Cossidae;Scoble, M.J. (1995). ''The Lepidoptera: Form, Function and Diversity''. The Natural History Museum and Oxford University Press, London. # Metathoracic "furca" resembling a blunt arrowhead; this a variable but potentially unique character in butterflies; #Second ''median plate'' of forewing base lying partly under the base of

vein Veins are blood vessels in humans and most other animals that carry blood towards the heart. Most veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the heart; exceptions are the pulmonary and umbilical veins, both of which carry oxygenated ...

"1A+2A", unlike the configuration in moths; #"Postspiracular bar" on first abdominal segment; #Female genitalic "anterior apophyses" reduced; #Male genitalia relatively "deep" dorso-ventrally; #Abdomen curved (especially in males), as in papilionoids; #Abdominal first tergal segment is strongly "pouched" (Scoble 1986; as also in Thyatirinae moths; # "Precoxal" sulcus joining "marginopleural" sulcus; #Male Foreleg pretarsus lost, thus fused into two elementsAckery, P.R., de Jong, R and Vane-Wright, R.I. (1999). The Butterflies: Hedyloidea, Hesperioidea and Papilionoidae. Pp. 263-300 in Kristensen, N.P. (Ed.). ''Lepidoptera, Moths and Butterflies''. Volume 1: Evolution, Systematics, and Biogeography. Volume IV/Part 35: 491 pp. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, New York. as in nymphalid butterflies, with the mid and hindlegs used for perching, but apparently redeveloped in hesperiids; #Egg upright, spindle-shaped and ribbedScoble, M.J., Aiello, A. (1990). Moth-like butterflies (Hedylidae: Lepidoptera): a summary, with comments on the egg. ''Journal of Natural History'', 24(1): 159-164. as in some Pieridae (e.g. the orange tip butterfly), some other butterflies, and as in some moth groups also; #

Larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

with "anal comb",Scoble, M.J., 1992. Guía de las Mariposas Hedílidas de Costa Rica (Lepidoptera: Hedylidae). In: ''Guía de Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad'', 1: v, 30 pp, + 61 figs. as in some Hesperioidea (not however Megathyminae) and Pieridae, but not in other Papilionoidea except one species (and also independently in

Tortricidae The Tortricidae are a family of moths, commonly known as tortrix moths or leafroller moths, in the order Lepidoptera. This large family has over 11,000 species described, and is the sole member of the superfamily Tortricoidea, although the genus ...

), that is used for propulsion of

frass Frass refers loosely to the more or less solid excreta of insects, and to certain other related matter. Definition and etymology ''Frass'' is an informal term and accordingly it is variously used and variously defined. It is derived from the ...

away from the caterpillar; #Caterpillar with horn-like processes and a "bifid" tail as in many Nymphalidae; #Caterpillar with "secondary

setae In biology, setae (singular seta ; from the Latin word for "bristle") are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms. Animal setae Protostomes Annelid setae are stiff bristles present on the body. ...

", as in Pieridae; # Ventral

proleg A proleg is a small, fleshy, stub structure found on the ventral surface of the abdomen of most larval forms of insects of the order Lepidoptera, though they can also be found on other larval insects such as sawflies and a few other types of in ...

"crochet" hooks not forming a complete circle, unlike configuration in hesperiids and papilionoids; #

Pupa A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in thei ...

affixed to the substrate via a silken girdle around the 1st abdominal segment, like in Pieridae (as also in some

, especially the subfamily Sterrhinae (in which the girdle is around the abdomen), but lost in many Papilionoidea); #

l cocoon lost, as in papilionoids, and a few other groups of Lepidoptera; #"Temporal cleavage line" lost in the pupa (as in papilionoids).

Distribution

Hedylidae range in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

south from central

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

and in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

through the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

from southern

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

(where there are a full 26 species, up to 12 at a single site:Grados, J. (1998). Pp 119-120 in Alonso, A. and F. Dallmeier (eds). ''Biodiversity Assessment of the Lower Urubamba Region, Peru: Cashiriari-3 Well Site and the Camisea and Urubamba Rivers''. SI/MAB Series #2. Smithsonian Institution/MAB Biodiversity Program, Washington, DC. to central

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

and southwestern

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

). In the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...

, they also occur in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...

, and

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

Behaviour

Hedylids are attracted to artificial lights, but occasionally some species can be found flying by day.Kendall, R.O., (1976). Larval foodplants and life history notes for eight moths from Texas and Mexico. ''Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society'', 30(4): 264-271. Thus, they may be involved in some

mimicry In evolutionary biology, mimicry is an evolved resemblance between an organism and another object, often an organism of another species. Mimicry may evolve between different species, or between individuals of the same species. Often, mimicry f ...

complexes with Ithomiinae (e.g. the female only of ''Macrosoma lucivittata''). A few species are white and resemble pierid butterflies (e.g. ''Macrosoma napiaria''). Based on a study of ''Macrosoma heliconiaria'', it has been found that hedylids have tympanic organs on their forewings for hearing apparently homologous to the "Vogel's organ" in some Papilionoidea that would help them evade bats at night. They have been shown to exhibit typical moth evasive behaviour towards bats such as erratic spiralling movements and dives. The resting posture is often at a curious angle, with the thorax tilted and the posterior edge of the hindwings nearly touching the substrate (Scoble, 1986). The larvae which lack the prominent horns in the first

instar An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or ...

tend to rest on the

midrib This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...

of the leaf and often skeletonise leaves or at either side produce an untidy patchwork of holes. The elegant pupa is attached by a cremaster and silken girdle and sometimes resembles a bird dropping.

List of species

This list of species is largely based on phenetic characters.

Biology and host plants

The life history of ''Macrosoma heliconiaria'' was originally described from plants of ''Byttneria aculeata'' in

. This was a historical breakthrough into the biology of hedylids. In this study, Kendall commented notably "I thought the larvae might represent a satyr species, but when the first larva pupated I was sure it was a pierid. The first adult emerged as a complete surprise. The pupa...is secured by girdle and cremaster, not unlike a pierid". ''Macrosoma cascaria'' was later also reared on this plant in

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

. More life histories are now known. From these data, known host plants span a wide range of (according to the

APG II system The APG II system (Angiosperm Phylogeny Group II system) of plant classification is the second, now obsolete, version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy that was published in April 2003 by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Gr ...

) rosid dicotyledonous plants, including the rosid

Myrtales The Myrtales are an order of flowering plants placed as a sister to the eurosids II clade as of the publishing of the ''Eucalyptus grandis'' genome in June 2014. The APG III system of classification for angiosperms still places it within the e ...

Melastomataceae (

genera 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 nomenclat ...

Miconia ''Miconia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the glory bush family, Melastomataceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Americas. The species are mostly shrubs and small to medium-sized trees up to 15 m tall. The generic name ...

'', '' Conostegia'', and '' Ossaea''), the eurosid I

Malpighiales The Malpighiales comprise one of the largest orders of flowering plants, containing about 36 families and more than species, about 7.8% of the eudicots. The order is very diverse, containing plants as different as the willow, violet, poinsett ...

, families

Euphorbiaceae Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of a genus in the family. Most spurges, such as '' Euphorbia paralias'', are herbs, but some, ...

('' Croton''), and

Malpighiaceae Malpighiaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales. It comprises about 73 genera and 1315 species, all of which are native to the tropics and subtropics. About 80% of the genera and 90% of the species occur in the New Wor ...

(''

Byrsonima ''Byrsonima'' is one of about 75 genera in the Malpighiaceae, a family of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales. In particular in American English, they are known as locustberries (which also may refer specifically to '' Byrsonima coccolobif ...

''), the eurosid II

orders Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...

Sapindales,

Rutaceae The Rutaceae is a family, commonly known as the rueRUTACEAE
in BoDD – Botanical Der ...

('' Zanthoxylum'') and more commonly

Malvales The Malvales are an order of flowering plants. As circumscribed by APG II-system, the order includes about 6000 species within 9 families. The order is placed in the eurosids II, which are part of the eudicots. The plants are mostly shrubs and ...

Malvaceae Malvaceae, or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include okra, cotton, cacao and durian. There are also some genera containing familia ...

tribes 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 ...

Bombacoideae Bombacoideae is a subfamily of the mallow family, Malvaceae. It contains herbaceous and woody plants. Their leaves are alternate, commonly palmately lobed, with small and caducous stipules. The flowers are hermaphroditic and actinomorphic; the c ...

('' Ochroma''), Malvoideae ('' Hampea'' and also ''

Hibiscus ''Hibiscus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. The genus is quite large, comprising several hundred species that are native to warm temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. Member species ...

'',

Byttnerioideae Byttnerioideae is a subfamily of the flowering plant family Malvaceae. Tribes and genera Four tribes are recognised by the Germplasm Resources Information Network: Byttnerieae *''Abroma'' Jacq. *'' Ayenia'' L. *'' Byttneria'' Loefl. *'' Kle ...

(''Byttneria aculeata'', '' Theobroma'') and

Grewioideae Grewioideae is a subfamily of the family Malvaceae and was first described by Hochreutiner. The group is named after its type genus, ''Grewia'', which is named for the English scientist Nehemiah Grew (1641-1712). It contains a number of gene ...

(''

Luehea ''Luehea'' is a genus of trees in the family Malvaceae. Its native range stretches from Mexico to southern tropical America and Cuba. It is native to the countries of; Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El S ...

''). The "green lizard caterpillar" ''Macrosoma tipulata'' attacks an economically important local fruit tree "Cupuaçu" (''

Theobroma grandiflorum ''Theobroma grandiflorum'', commonly known as cupuaçu, also spelled cupuassu, cupuazú, cupu assu, or copoazu, is a tropical rainforest tree related to cacao. Native and common throughout the Amazon basin, it is naturally cultivated in the jung ...

'') in

and can defoliate saplings; the biology of this species has been studied and illustrated in some detail. The larva of this species lives about 15 days in 5 instars, the pupal stage lasts about 7 days and the adult lives about 10 days. ''M. tipulata'' and many other species can be found as adults through most of the year.

DNA sequences

A few species have been sequenced for the

mitochondrial A mitochondrion (; ) is an organelle found in the cells of most Eukaryotes, such as animals, plants and fungi. Mitochondria have a double membrane structure and use aerobic respiration to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is used t ...

genes "cytochrome oxidase I", and "ND1" and nuclear genes "Wingless" and "Ef-1?", including ''Macrosoma semiermis''. Some species are currently being barcoded.DNA Barcodes for Macrosoma
/ref>

Cited literature

Sources

*Scoble, M.J. (1986). The structure and affinities of the Hedyloidea: a new concept of the butterflies. ''Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Entomology Series'', 53: 251-286.

External links