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Lycaenidae Genera
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 species. The family comprises seven subfamilies, including the blues ( Polyommatinae), the coppers ( Lycaeninae), the hairstreaks ( Theclinae), and the harvesters ( Miletinae). Description, food, and life cycle Adults are small, under 5 cm usually, and brightly coloured, sometimes with a metallic gloss. Lycaenidae wings are generally blue or green. More than half of these butterflies depend on ants in some way. Larvae are often flattened rather than cylindrical, with glands that may produce secretions that attract and subdue ants. Their cuticles tend to be thickened. Some larvae are capable of producing vibrations and low sounds that are transmitted through the substrates they inhabit. They use these sounds to communicate with ant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Large Blue
The large blue (''Phengaris arion'') is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. The species was first defined in 1758 and first recorded in Britain in 1795. In 1979 the species became mostly extinct in Britain but has been successfully reintroduced with new conservation methods. The species is classified as "near threatened" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Today ''P. arion'' can be found in Europe, the Caucasus, Armenia, western Siberia, Altai, north-western Kazakhstan and Sichuan. The large blue can be distinguished by its unique speckled black dots on its wings with a blue background. The large blue butterfly is well known in behavioural ecology as it is a brood parasite of a single species of red ant, '' Myrmica sabuleti''. The discovery was made by Captain Edward Bagwell Purefoy along with F. W. Frohawk and others. Subspecies *''P. a. arion'' Mainland Europe, western Siberia, Altai, north-western Kazakhstan *''P. a. delphinatus'' (Fruhstorfer, 1910 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phytophagy
A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically evolved to feed on plants, especially upon vascular tissues such as foliage, fruits or seeds, as the main component of its diet. These more broadly also encompass animals that eat non-vascular autotrophs such as mosses, algae and lichens, but do not include those feeding on decomposed plant matters (i.e. detritivores) or macrofungi (i.e. fungivores). As a result of their plant-based diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouth structures (jaws or mouthparts) well adapted to mechanically break down plant materials, and their digestive systems have special enzymes (e.g. amylase and cellulase) to digest polysaccharides. Grazing herbivores such as horses and cattles have wide flat-crowned teeth that are better adapted for grinding grass, tree bark and other tougher lignin-containing materials, and many of them evolved rumination or cecotropic behaviors to better extract nutrients from plants. A large percentage of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eumaeus Atala
''Eumaeus atala'', also known as the Atala butterfly or coontie hairstreak, is a small colorful butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in southeastern Florida (including the Florida Keys) in the United States, Cuba, the Bahamas, and the Cayman Islands in the West Indies. Its coloration and habits are unique among butterflies within its range. History The species was first described by the Cuban zoologist Felipe Poey. He named the butterfly for Atala, the Native American heroine of an 1801 French novella ('' Atala, ou Les Amours de deux sauvages dans le desert'' or in English: "Atala, or the Loves of two Indian savages in the desert") of the same name that was written by Chateaubriand. Ecology Throughout its range, the larvae feed on a native cycad, ''Zamia integrifolia'' (commonly called "coontie palm" or "arrowhead"), as well as '' Zamia pumila'' and other exotic ornamental cycads. In Cuba, the introduced cycad ''Cycas revoluta'' also is eaten by this species. A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atlides Halesus
The great purple hairstreak (''Atlides halesus''), also called the great blue hairstreak, is a common gossamer-winged butterfly species in parts of the United States. It is actually a Neotropical species; its North American range only includes the warm-temperate and subtropical parts of that continent, and it ranges southwards almost to the Isthmus of Panama. The type specimen, however, was shipped to Europe from the Colony of Virginia, probably around the time of the United States Declaration of Independence. The common names refer to the butterfly's two main colors – dusky purple on the underside, and iridescent blue above. Particularly the males are very colorful in flight – brilliant blue and velvety black, with bright red and golden markings – but when sitting down they show their inconspicuous dusky purple underside. On each hindwing, there are two tails, with one short and one long tail, lending itself to the name "hairstreak". Several subspecies are recognized. It ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arhopala
''Arhopala'' is a very large genus of gossamer-winged butterflies (Lycaenidae). They are the type genus of the tribe Arhopalini. In the relatively wide circumscription used here, it contains over 200 species collectively known as oakblues. They occur from Japan throughout temperate to tropical Asia south and east of the Himalayas to Australia and the Solomon Islands of Melanesia. Like many of their relatives, their caterpillars are attended and protected by ants (myrmecophily). Sexual dichromatism is often prominent in adult oakblues.Brower (2008) The genus' delimitation versus '' Amblypodia'' and ''Flos'' has proven to be problematic; not all issues are resolved and the assignment of species to these genera must be considered somewhat provisional. Systematics As circumscribed here, this genus includes many formerly independent genera. Junior synonyms of ''Arhopala'' are: * ''Acesina'' Moore, 1884 * ''Aurea'' Evans, 1957 * ''Daranasa'' Moore, 1884 (''lapsus'') * ''Darasana'' Moo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liphyra Brassolis
''Liphyra brassolis'', also known as the moth butterfly, is a butterfly found in South Asia, Southeast Asia and Australia that belongs to the lycaenid family. The larvae are predatory and feed on ant larvae. This is one of the largest species of lycaenid butterflies. Several disjunct populations across its wide distribution range are considered as subspecies. Never a common butterfly, specimens of this species are highly prized by collectors. Description Forewing: costa arched; apex subacute; termen convex; tornus rounded; dorsum sinuate, ciliated, about three-fourths the length of the costa; cell about half the length of the wing; vein 6 out of 7 beyond apex of cell, upper discocellular therefore absent, middle and lower discocellulars subequal, vertical; vein 7 ends on termen well below apex of wing; vein 8 out of 7, from apical half, ends on costa before apex of wing; vein 9 out of 7 from just before middle; veins 10 and 11 free; vein 12 terminates well beyond end of cell on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Curetis Thetis
''Curetis thetis'', the Indian sunbeam, Retrieved 20 April 2018.Markku Savela's website on Lepidopterat Markku Savela's website on Lepidoptera is a species of lycaenid or red butterfly found in Indomalayan realm. Distribution The butterfly occurs in Peninsular India, south of the Himalayas, but not in the desert tracts or in areas with a scanty rainfall; parts of Assam; Saurashtra; Bengal, Sylhet onto Myanmar. It is also found in the Nicobar Islands. It is also found in Sri Lanka, Java, Philippines, northern Sulawesi and Selajar. Status It is not considered rare. Description Male Upperside dark cupreous red, glossy and shining. Forewing: base irrorated with dusky scales; costa edged with a narrow, inwardly jagged, jet-black band that broadens to the apex, thence continued along the termen, decreasing in width to the tornus; opposite the apex the inner edge of the black is acutely angulate. Hindwing: base and dorsum broadly but slightly irrorated (sprinkled) with dusk ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Instar
An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'' 'form, likeness') is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, which occurs between each moult (''ecdysis'') until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or assume a new form. Differences between instars can often be seen in altered body proportions, colors, patterns, changes in the number of body segments or head width. After shedding their exoskeleton (moulting), the juvenile arthropods continue in their life cycle until they either pupate or moult again. The instar period of growth is fixed; however, in some insects, like the salvinia stem-borer moth, the number of instars depends on early larval nutrition. Some arthropods can continue to moult after sexual maturity, but the stages between these subsequent moults are generally not called instars. For most insect species, an ''instar'' is the developmental stage of the larval forms of holometabolous (complete metamorphism) or ny ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Honeydew (secretion)
Honeydew is a sugar-rich sticky liquid, secreted by aphids, some scale insects, and many other true bugs and some other insects as they feed on plant sap. When their mouthpart penetrates the phloem, the sugary, high-pressure liquid is forced out of the anus of the insects, allowing them to rapidly process the large volume of sap required to extract essential nutrients present at low concentrations. Honeydew is particularly common as a secretion in hemipteran insects and is often the basis for trophobiosis. Some caterpillars of Lycaenidae butterflies and some moths also produce honeydew. In addition to various sugars, honeydew contains small amounts of amino acids, other organic compounds, and inorganic Salt (chemistry), salts with its precise makeup affected by factors such as insect species, host plant species, and whether a symbiotic organism is present. Honeydew-producing insects, like cicadas, pierce phloem ducts to access the sugar rich sap; the excess fluid released by ci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Myrmecophily
thumb , Myrmecophilous aphids being tended by ants Myrmecophily ( , ) consists of positive, mutualistic, interspecies associations between ants and a variety of other organisms, such as plants, other arthropods, and fungi. It may also include commensal or even parasitic interactions. A "myrmecophile" is an animal that associates with ants. An estimated 10,000 species of ants (Formicidae) are known, with a higher diversity in the tropics. In most terrestrial ecosystems, ants are ecologically and numerically dominant, being the main invertebrate predators. As a result, ants play a key role in controlling arthropod richness, abundance, and community structure. Some evidence shows that the evolution of myrmecophilous interactions has contributed to the abundance and ecological success of ants, by ensuring a dependable and energy-rich food supply, thus providing a competitive advantage for ants over other invertebrate predators. Most myrmecophilous associations are opportunistic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trophallaxis
Trophallaxis () is the transfer of food or other fluids among members of a community through mouth-to-mouth (stomodeum, stomodeal) or anus-to-mouth (proctodeum, proctodeal) feeding. Along with nutrients, trophallaxis can involve the transfer of molecules such as pheromones, organisms such as Symbiosis, symbionts, and information to serve as a form of communication. Trophallaxis is used by some birds, gray wolf, gray wolves, vampire bats, and is most highly developed in eusocial insects such as ants, wasps, bees, and termites. Etymology Tropho- (prefix or suffix) is derived from the Greek trophé, meaning 'nourishment'. The Greek 'allaxis' means 'exchange'. The word was introduced by the entomologist William Morton Wheeler in 1918. Evolutionary significance Trophallaxis was used in the past to support theories on the origin of sociality in insects. The Swiss psychologist and entomologist Auguste Forel also believed that food sharing was key to ant society and he used an illust ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
