Overview
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Endangered |
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Interesting Facts
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 Theclinae
Hairstreaks are members of the Family Lycaenidae. Richest in tropical habitats , hairstreaks are numerous in the Americas and comprise about 1,000 species. In tropical species, the upperside of small to medium-sized adults is often iridescent blue, due to reflected light from the wing scales . However, most of the North American species are brown above. Migration is rare, but a few species (such as the Gray Hairstreak) are good long-distance colonists . Males perch to await mates, and females lay eggs singly. Caterpillars usually feed on leaves or reproductive structures of woody trees or shrubs . Interestingly, the chrysalids of several species can produce sounds between their abdominal segments, likely related to their interactions with ants . Hairstreaks typically overwinter in the egg or pupal stage.[2]
Habitat
Biome: Terrestrial [3].
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- eukaryotes
- Kingdom:
Animalia
()
- C. Linnaeus, 1758
- animals
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
()
- (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983
- Branch:
Protostomia
()
- Grobben, 1908
- Infrakingdom:
Ecdysozoa
()
- A.M.A. Aguinaldo et al., 1997 ex T. Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Superphylum:
Panarthropoda
()
- Cuvier
- Phylum:
Arthropoda
()
- Latreille, 1829
- Arthropods
- Subphylum:
Mandibulata
()
- Snodgrass, 1938
- Infraphylum:
Atelocerata
()
- Heymons, 1901
- Superclass:
Panhexapoda
()
- Epiclass:
Hexapoda
()
- Class:
Insecta
()
- C. Linnaeus, 1758
- Insects
- Subclass:
Dicondylia
()
- Infraclass:
Pterygota
()
- Cohort:
Myoglossata
()
- Superorder:
Panorpida
()
- Order:
Lepidoptera
()
- C. Linnaeus, 1758
- Butterflies and Moths
- Infraorder:
Heteroneura
()
- Family:
Lycaenidae
()
- Gossamer Winged Butterflies
- Family:
Lycaenidae
(
- Infraorder:
Heteroneura
(
- Order:
Lepidoptera
(
- Superorder:
Panorpida
(
- Cohort:
Myoglossata
(
- Infraclass:
Pterygota
(
- Subclass:
Dicondylia
(
- Class:
Insecta
(
- Epiclass:
Hexapoda
(
- Superclass:
Panhexapoda
(
- Infraphylum:
Atelocerata
(
- Subphylum:
Mandibulata
(
- Phylum:
Arthropoda
(
- Superphylum:
Panarthropoda
(
- Infrakingdom:
Ecdysozoa
(
- Branch:
Protostomia
(
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
(
- Kingdom:
Animalia
(
Similar Species
Members of the genus Arawacus
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 7 species and subspecies in this genus:
A. aetolus (Aetolus Stripestreak) · A. dolylas (Dolylas Stripestreak) · A. jada (Creamy Stripe Streak) · A. leucogyna (Leucogyna Stripestreak) · A. separata (Separated Stripestreak) · A. sito (Fine-Lined Stripe-Streak) · A. togarna (Togarna Stripestreak)
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
- Baillie, J. and Groombridge, B (editors and compilers). 1996. 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.
- Groombridge, B. (ed.) 1994. 1994 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.
- Groombridge, B. (ed.). 1994. 1994 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.
Notes
Contributors
- Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 9, 2012.
- Gimenez Dixon, M. 1996. Arawacus aethesa. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloadedon 30January2012.
- Gimenez Dixon, M. 1996. In IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCNRedList.org. Downloaded July 18, 2008.
- IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. . Downloaded on January 28, 2012.
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2474665
- IUCN ID: 192386
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 2183
Footnotes
- http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/taxonomy?f=16&sci=Lycaenidae&com=Gossamer-wing Butterflies [back]
- http://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Euristrymon&search=Search [back]
- Gimenez Dixon, M. 1996. Arawacus aethesa. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 30 January 2012. [back]
