Miletinae is a subfamily 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 butterfl ...

butterflies Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

, commonly called harvesters and woolly legs, and virtually unique among butterflies in having

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 ...

y larvae. Miletinae are entirely aphytophagous (do not feed on plants). The ecology of the Miletinae is little understood, but adults and larvae live in association with

ant Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22 ...

s, and most known species feed on Hemiptera (

aphid Aphids are small sap-sucking insects and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white woolly aphids. A t ...

s, coccids, membracids, and

psyllids Psyllidae, the jumping plant lice or psyllids, are a family of small plant-feeding insects that tend to be very host-specific, i.e. each plant-louse species only feeds on one plant species (monophagous) or feeds on a few closely related plants ( ...

), though some, like ''

Liphyra ''Liphyra'' is a butterfly genus in the family Lycaenidae. It was first described by John O. Westwood in 1864. The larvae are predatory and feed on ant larvae. They are among the largest species of lycaenid butterflies. There are several species ...

'', feed on the ants themselves. The butterflies, ants, and hemipterans, in some cases, seem to have complex symbiotic relationships benefiting all.Lohman, D.J.; Samarita, V.U. 2009: The biology of carnivorous butterfly larvae (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae: Miletinae: Miletini) and their ant-tended hemipteran prey in Thailand and the Philippines. ''Journal of natural history'', 43: 569-581.

Systematics

*Tribe Miletini **''

Allotinus ''Allotinus'' is a genus of butterflies in the family Lycaenidae. The genus was erected by Cajetan Felder and Rudolf Felder in 1865. The members (species) of this genus are found in the Indomalayan realm. Species *Subgenus ''Allotinus'' **'' ...

'' C. & R. Felder,

865 __NOTOC__ Year 865 ( DCCCLXV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * King Louis the German divides the East Frankish Kingdom among his three sons. C ...

/small> —

Indomalayan realm The Indomalayan realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms. It extends across most of South and Southeast Asia and into the southern parts of East Asia. Also called the Oriental realm by biogeographers, Indomalaya spreads all over the Indi ...

**''

Lontalius ''Lontalius'' is a monotypic butterfly genus in the family Lycaenidae. Its single species, ''Lontalius eltus'', is found in Borneo and the Philippines. Both the genus and species were first described by John Nevill Eliot Lt. Col. John Nevill ...

'' Eliot, 1986 — Indomalayan realm **''

Miletus Miletus (; gr, Μῑ́λητος, Mī́lētos; Hittite transcription ''Millawanda'' or ''Milawata'' (exonyms); la, Mīlētus; tr, Milet) was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in a ...

'' Hübner, 819/small> — Indomalayan realm **'' Logania'' Distant, 1884 — Indomalayan realm **''

Megalopalpus ''Megalopalpus'' is a genus of butterflies in the family Lycaenidae. Species *''Megalopalpus angulosus'' Grünberg, 1910 *'' Megalopalpus metaleucus'' Karsch, 1893 *''Megalopalpus simplex ''Megalopalpus simplex'' is a butterfly in the family ...

'' Röber,

886 __NOTOC__ Year 886 ( DCCCLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March – A wide-ranging conspiracy against Emperor Basil I, led by John Kourkouas, is uncovered. * ...

/small> —

Afrotropical realm The Afrotropical realm is one of Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Africa south of the Sahara Desert, the majority of the Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, southern Iran and extreme southwestern Pakistan, and the island ...

*Tribe Spalgini **''

Spalgis ''Spalgis'' is a genus of butterflies in the family Lycaenidae. ''Spalgis'' are found in the Australasian realm (New Guinea), the Indomalayan realm, and the Afrotropical realm. The genus was erected by Frederic Moore in 1879. Species *'' Spa ...

'' Moore, 1879 — Indomalayan realm, Afrotropical realm **''

Feniseca ''Feniseca tarquinius'', the harvester, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae, and the only member of the monotypic genus ''Feniseca''. It is found in eastern North America. This butterfly is the only carnivorous (i.e., insectivorous) butter ...

'' Grote, 1869 —

Nearctic realm The Nearctic realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting the Earth's land surface. The Nearctic realm covers most of North America, including Greenland, Central Florida, and the highlands of Mexico. The parts of North America t ...

(one species, '' Feniseca tarquinius'') **'' Taraka'' Doherty, 1889 — East Asian

Palearctic realm The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...

, Indomalayan realm (sometimes in a separate tribe: Tarakini) **'' Tennenta'' Müller, 2017 —

Australasian realm The Australasian realm is a biogeographic realm that is coincident with, but not (by some definitions) the same as, the geographical region of Australasia. The realm includes Australia, the island of New Guinea (comprising Papua New Guinea and ...

*Tribe Lachnocnemini **''

Lachnocnema ''Lachnocnema'', commonly called woolly legs, is a genus of butterflies in the family Lycaenidae found mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa. Identification requires dissection to reveal subtle genital distinctions. Species Listed alphabetically within s ...

'' Trimen, 1887 — Afrotropical realm **''

Thestor ''Thestor'' is a genus of butterflies in the family Lycaenidae. The species are Afrotropical. Species *''Thestor barbatus'' Henning & Henning, 1997 – bearded skolly *''Thestor basutus'' (Wallengren, 1857) – Basuto skolly, Basuto magpie *''T ...

'' Hübner, 819/small> — Afrotropical realm *Tribe Liphyrini (formerly a separate subfamily: Liphyrinae) **''

Euliphyra ''Euliphyra'' is a genus of butterflies in 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 gossam ...

'' Holland, 1890 — Afrotropical realm **''

Aslauga ''Aslauga'' is a genus of butterflies in the family Lycaenidae. They are associated with other insects and found only in the Afrotropical realm. They are small usually grey-blue or grey-purple butterflies with a distinctive, but widely varied win ...

'' Kirby, 1890 — Afrotropical realm **''

'' Westwood,

864 __NOTOC__ Year 864 ( DCCCLXIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – Emperor Louis II (the Younger) marches with a Frankish army ag ...

/small> — Indomalayan realm, Australasian realm

References

Bernard d'Abrera Bernard d'Abrera (28 August 1940 – 13 January 2017) was an Australian entomological taxonomist and philosopher of science, particularly noted for his books on true butterflies (Papilionoidea) and larger moths of the world (Saturniidae and Sphing ...

(1986) ''Butterflies of the Oriental Region''. Part 3: Lycaenidae and Riodinidae Hill House Publishers *Bernard d'Abrera, (1980) ''Butterflies of the Afrotropical region based on Synonymic catalogue of the butterflies of the Ethiopian region by R.H. Carcasson''. Lansdown Editions in association with E.W. Classey, Melbourne * Kaliszewska, Z.A., Lohman, D.J., Sommer, K., Adelson, G., Rand, D.B., Mathew, J., Talavera, G. & Pierce, N.E. 2015. When caterpillars attack: Biogeography and life history evolution of the Miletinae (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae). ''Evolution'' 69(3): 571–588.

External links

Biodiversity Explorer
*

Royal Museum for Central Africa The Royal Museum for Central Africa or RMCA ( nl, Koninklijk Museum voor Midden-Afrika or KMMA; french: Musée royal de l'Afrique centrale or MRAC; german: Königliches Museum für Zentralafrika or KMZA), also officially known as the AfricaMuse ...

Images of Miletini (as Miletinae

Miletinae, Butterfly subfamilies {{Miletinae-stub