Lycaeninae, the coppers, are a subfamily of the

gossamer-winged butterflies 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 butterfly ...

(Lycaenidae). The relationships of the

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 ...

are not fully resolved. Sometimes the

Polyommatinae Polyommatinae, the blues, are a diverse subfamily of gossamer-winged butterflies (family Lycaenidae). This subfamily was long used to assign taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more ...

and

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 ...

are included in the Lycaeninae; in particular the Theclinae tribe Eumaeini contains many similar taxa. Consequently, the delimitation of the Lycaeninae is by no means definitely resolved; many genera await conformation of placement. Regardless, it is today generally considered better to restrict the Lycaeninae to the immediate relatives of the type genus ''

Lycaena ''Lycaena'' is a genus of butterflies. The genus range is Holarctic, with the exception of four species found in New Zealand, two in South Africa, one in New Guinea and one in Java. It is commonly divided into several subgenera, such as '' Antipo ...

'', and one or two clades close to that group.Brower (2008)

Taxonomy

The Lycaeninae '' sensu stricto'' can be divided into two

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 ...

s: *Heliophorini ** '' Heliophorus'' – sapphires ** '' Iophanus'' ** '' Melanolycaena'' *Lycaenini ** '' Athamanthia'' ** '' Gaeides'' (often included in ''Lycaena'') ** '' Hyrcanana'' ** ''

'' – typical coppers ** '' Phoenicurusia'' A few genera included in the Lycaeninae in the most extensive circumscriptions are now placed in subfamilies as distinct as the

Poritiinae Poritiinae is a subfamily of butterflies, the larvae of which are unusual for feeding on algae and foliate lichen. Systematics * Tribe Poritiini - Oriental ** '' Cyaniriodes'' de Nicéville, 1890 (sometimes placed in Lycaeninae) ** '' Poris ...

. Finally, there are some genera of uncertain status as regards their systematics and taxonomic validity. They might, if valid, be members of the monophyletic Lycaeninae, but this requires confirmation: * '' Alciphronia'' * '' Apangea'' * '' Kulua'' * '' Mirzakhania'' * '' Nesa''

Footnotes

References

* (2008): Tree of Life Web Project &ndash
Lycaeninae
Version of 2008-APR-29. Retrieved 2009-FEB-18.

External links

Butterflies and Moths of North AmericaButterflies of America
Butterfly subfamilies Taxa named by William Elford Leach {{Lycaeninae-stub

Taxonomy

Footnotes

References

Further reading

External links