Miletinae is a subfamily of the family Lycaenidae of

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 predatory 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 ants, and most known species feed on Hemiptera ( aphids, 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. Ca ...

/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 __NOTOC__ Year 819 (Roman numerals, DCCCXIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – Emperor Louis the Pious, Louis I marries Judith ...

/small> — Indomalayan realm **''

Logania ''Logania'' is a genus of plants belonging to the family Loganiaceae. Native to Australia and New Zealand, the genus includes at least 24 species including herbs, shrubs, trees and climbers. Species include: *''Logania albiflora'' (Andrews) Dr ...

'' Distant, 1884 — Indomalayan realm **'' Megalopalpus'' 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 ''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) butterfl ...

'') **'' Taraka'' Doherty, 1889 — East Asian Palearctic realm, Indomalayan realm (sometimes in a separate tribe: Tarakini) **'' Tennenta'' Müller, 2017 — Australasian realm *Tribe Lachnocnemini **'' Lachnocnema'' Trimen, 1887 — Afrotropical realm **'' Thestor'' Hübner,

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

'' Westwood, 864/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 Images of Miletini (as Miletinae

Miletinae, Butterfly subfamilies {{Miletinae-stub