Agriades glandon

• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Description

Family Lycaenidae

'The Lycaenidae are members of the Superfamily Papilionoidea, the true butterflies. Worldwide in distribution, this family has approximately 4,700 species that are unevenly distributed. Coppers are especially dominant in north temperate regions , blues are richest in the Old World tropics and north temperate zones, and hairstreaks are particularly abundant in New World tropics. The adults are typically small to tiny and often brilliantly colored--iridescent blues, bright reds, and oranges. Adults of both sexes have three pairs of walking legs , though most males have fused segments in their front legs. Most adults visit flowers for nectar, but some harvesters feed on wooly aphid honeydew and some hairstreaks feed on aphid honeydew or bird droppings. Females lay single, sea urchin shaped eggs on host leaves or flower buds; the resulting caterpillars are typically slug-shaped. In many species, caterpillars depend on ants for protection, so caterpillars produce sugary secretions that are collected by the ants. Most species overwinter in either the egg or pupal stage.

'[1]

Subfamily Polyommatinae

Blues are tiny to small butterflies of the Family Lycaenidae. Distributed worldwide, they are most diverse in Southeast Asia, tropical Africa, and northern temperate regions . Most of the nearly 50 North American species are found in the west. Adult males are predominantly blue above, due to reflected light rather than pigmentation . Some males and most females are largely brown above. Below, wings of both sexes are usually gray-white with black spots or streaks. Adults in some genera (Euphilotes, Lycaeides, Plebulina, and Icaricia) have more or less prominent orange submarginal bands on their hindwings . Most adults are found near their host plants , and they do not fly long distances , though some tropical and subtropical species undertake long migrations. Adults visit flowers for nectar. Males frequent moist sand and mud , and females lay eggs singly on host plant leaves or flowers. As caterpillars, they secrete sugary secretions that attract ants , and caterpillars of some species are raised in ant nests. Blues usually overwinter in the pupal stage.[2]

Habitat

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 3,925 meters (0 to 12,877 feet).[3]

Taxonomy

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Similar Species

Members of the genus Agriades

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 4 species and subspecies in this genus:

A. cassiope (Cassiope Blue) · A. glandon (Arctic Blue) · A. glandon glandon (Poco Brillo) · A. podarce (Arrowhead Arctic Blue)

More Info

• Search for Pictures: images.google.com
• Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
• Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
• Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books

Further Reading

• Bibliography (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) / Charles A. Bridges. Urbana, Ill.: C.A. Bridges, c1993. url p. 30.
• British journal of entomology and natural history. [London]: British Entomological and Natural History Society, 1988- url p. 33, p. 69.
• Catalogue of the family-group, genus-group and species-group names of the Riodinidae & Lycaenidae (Lepidoptera) of the world / Charles A. Bridges. Urbana, Ill.: C.A. Bridges, c1994. url p. 9.
• Proceedings and transactions of the British Entomological and Natural History Society. London, British Entomological and Natural History Society. url p. 12, p. 15, p. 15.
• The Great Basin naturalist. Provo, Utah: M.L. Bean Life Science Museum, Brigham Young University, 1939-1999. url p. 336, p. 338, p. 339, p. 344, p. 345.

Notes

Contributors

• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 9, 2012.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 17, 2008:

• Biologiezentrum der Oberoesterreichischen Landesmuseen, Biologiezentrum Linz
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saskatoon
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, St. Johns, Newfoundland
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Butterflies and Skippers of Alberta Project
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Canadian National Collection
• of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Crispin S. Guppy Collection
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Donald F. Hooper Butterfly collection, Canada
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, E.C. Manning Park Collection
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Gerald Hilchie Collection
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Lepidopterists Society Season Summaries 1973-1997
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Lyman Entomological Museum
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, M. Gollop Collection
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Memorial University Department of Biology Collection
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, New Brunswick Museum Collection
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Norbert Kondla Collection
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Northern Forestry Centre Arthropod Collection, Edmonton
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History, Halifax, NS, Canada
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Provincial Museum of Alberta
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Ross A. Layberry Observations
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Royal British Columbia Museum Entomology Collection
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Royal Ontario Museum: Entomology
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Royal Saskatchewan Museum Collection
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Spencer Entomological Museum
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, University of Saskatchewan
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, University of Western Ontario Collection
• European Environment Agency, EUNIS
• Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Norwegian Lepidoptera collection, Oslo
• University of Alaska Museum of the North, Kenelm W. Philip Lepidoptera Collection
• University of Alberta Museums, University of Alberta Lepidoptera Collection

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 3388961
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Lep-201283.0
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13724620
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 16206

Footnotes

1. http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/taxonomy?f=16&sci=Lycaenidae&com=Gossamer-wing Butterflies [back]
2. http://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Plebulina&search=Search [back]
3. Mean = 813.660 meters (2,669.488 feet), Standard Deviation = 648.150 based on 1,526 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.