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]
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
- Subfamily:
Theclinae
()
- Hairstreaks
- Tribe:
Eumaeini
()
- Genus:
Callophrys
()
- Billberg, 1820
- Specific name:
grynea
- Scientific name: - Callophrys grynea
- Specific name:
grynea
- Genus:
Callophrys
(
- Tribe:
Eumaeini
(
- Subfamily:
Theclinae
(
- 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 Callophrys
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 63 species and subspecies in this genus:
C. affinis (Western Green Hairstreak) · C. affinis apama (Canyon Green Hairstreak) · C. affinis washingtonia (Washington Hairstreak) · C. apama (Apama Western Green Hairstreak) · C. augustinus (Brown Elfin) · C. augustinus augustinus (Brown Elfin) · C. augustinus helenae (Brown Elfin) · C. augustinus iroides (Brown Elfin) · C. barryi (Barry's Hairstreak) · C. comstocki (Desert Green Hairstreak) · C. dumetorum (Bramble Hairstreak) · C. eryphon (Western Pine Elfin) · C. eryphon eryphon (Western Pine Elfin) · C. eryphon purpurascens (Western Pine Elfin) · C. fotis (Desert Elfin) · C. fotis mojavensis (Desert Elfin) · C. gryneus (Juniper Hairstreak) · C. gryneus barryi (Barry's Hairstreak) · C. gryneus gryneus (Olive Juniper Hairstreak) · C. gryneus juniperaria (Juniper Hairstreak) · C. gryneus loki (Skinner's Hairstreak) · C. gryneus siva (Siva Juniper Hairstreak) · C. gryneus sweadneri (Florida Olive Hairstreak) · C. guatemalena (Guatemalan Hairstreak) · C. henrici (Henry's Elfin) · C. henrici solatus (Henry's Elfin) · C. hesseli (Hessel's Hairstreak) · C. irus (Frosted Elfin) · C. irus hadros (Frosted Elfin) · C. johnsoni (Johnson's Hairstreak) · C. lanoraieensis (Bog Elfin) · C. lemberti (Alpine Sheridan's Hairstreak) · C. mcfarlandi (Sandia Hairstreak) · C. mossii (Moss' Elfin) · C. mossii bayensis (San Bruno Elfin) · C. mossii doudoroffi (Doudoroff's Elfin) · C. mossii doudorofii (Moss's Elfin) · C. mossii hidakupa (San Gabriel Mountains Elfin Butterfly) · C. mossii mossii (Moss' Elfin) · C. mossii schryveri (Schryver's Elfin) · C. muiri (Muir's Hairstreak) · C. murii (Muir's Hairstreak) · C. nelsoni (Nelson's Hairstreak) · C. nelsoni rosneri (Rosner's Hairstreak) · C. niphon (Eastern Pine Elfin) · C. niphon clarki (Eastern Pine Elfin) · C. perplexa (Bramble Green Hairstreak) · C. polios (Hoary Elfin) · C. polios maritima (Hoary Elfin) · C. polios obscurus (Obscure Elfin) · C. polios polios (Hoary Elfin) · C. rosneri (Rosner's Hairstreak) · C. rubi (Green Hairstreak) · C. sheridani (Sheridan's Green Hairstreak) · C. sheridanii (Sheridan's Green Hairstreak) · C. sheridanii comstocki (Desert Green Hairstreak) · C. sheridanii lemberti (Alpine Sheridan's Hairstreak) · C. sheridanii newcomeri (Newcomer's Hairstreak) · C. sheridanii sheridanii (Sheridan's Green Hairstreak) · C. spinetorum (Thicket Hairstreak) · C. thornei (Thorne's Hairstreak) · C. xami (Xami Hairstreak) · C. xami texami (Xami Hairstreak)
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
Notes
Contributors
- Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 10, 2012.
Data Sources
Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 12, 2007:
- Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Canadian National Collection
- of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes
- Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Lepidopterists Society Season Summaries 1973-1997
- Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Point Pelee National Park Collection, Canada
- Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Ross A. Layberry Observations
- Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Royal Ontario Museum: Entomology
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 5799803
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 14809597
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 2023272
