Cressida cassandra

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.

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Taxonomy

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Domain: Eukaryota () - Whittaker & Margulis,1978 - eukaryotes
- Kingdom: Animalia () - Linnaeus, 1758 - animals
  - Subkingdom: Bilateria () - (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983
    - Branch: Protostomia () - Grobben, 1908
      - Infrakingdom: Ecdysozoa () - Aguinaldo Et Al., 1997 Ex 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: Amphiesmenoptera ()
        Order: Lepidoptera () - Linnaeus, 1758 - Butterflies and Moths
        Infraorder: Heteroneura ()
        Family: Lycaenidae () - Gossamer Winged Butterflies
        Genus: Cressida ()
        Specific name: cassandra - Wsaterhouse & Lyell 1914
        Scientific name: - Cressida cassandra Wsaterhouse & Lyell 1914

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Cressida

There are approximately 13 species in this genus:

C. androgyne · C. cassandra · C. cressida · C. cressida cassandra · C. cressida cressida · C. cressida troilus · C. harmonia · C. harmonides · C. heliconides · C. insularis · C. intermedius · C. kuhni · C. troilus

More Info

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Notes

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Contributors

LepIndex: The Global Lepidoptera Names Index

Identifiers

Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 7685094
Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Lep-166379.0
Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 1573359

Footnotes

http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/taxonomy?f=16&sci=Lycaenidae&com=Gossamer-wing Butterflies [back]