Leptotes cassius

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

Overview

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]

Physical Description

Habitat

Subtropical thorn scrub , forest edges , weedy fields , residential areas.

Biology

Diet

Caterpillar hosts: Ornamental leadwort (Plumbago capensis), rattlebox (Crotalaria incana), hairy milk pea (Galactia volubilis), and lima bean (Phaseolus limensis). Adult food: Nectar from shepherd's needle , lippia, and many other flowers.

Reproduction

Eggs are laid singly on flower buds of the host plant; caterpillars eat flowers and seedpods. Predation and parasitism may be discouraged by ants , which tend the caterpillars and feed on their sugary secretions.

Behavior

Flight: All through the year in southern Florida and South Texas. Number of broods has not been determined.

Taxonomy

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Similar Species

Compare to Marine Blue.

Members of the genus Leptotes

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

L. andicola (Andicola Blue) · L. cassius (Cassius Blue) · L. marina (Marine Blue) · L. pirithous (Lang's Short-Tailed 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. 10.
• Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). London: The Museum, 1950-1977. url p. 491.
• The Entomologist's record and journal of variation. s.l., s.n. url p. 151, p. 222, p. 245, p. 270, p. 283, p. 381, p. 39.
• The Macrolepidoptera of the world; a systematic description of the hitherto known Macrolepidoptera, ed. in collaboration with well-known specialists. Stuttgart: Seitz'schen (Kernen), 1906- url p. 820.
• The University of Kansas science bulletin. 26 1939 [Lawrence]: University of Kansas, 1902-1996. url p. 347.
• Tulane studies in zoology. 6 1958 New Orleans: Tulane University, 1953-1968. url fig. 4, page 72.

Notes

Contributors

• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed February 17, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 4 providers.
• LepIndex: The Global Lepidoptera Names Index. Release date: June 15, 2005
• Ruggiero M., Gordon D., Bailly N., Kirk P., Nicolson D. (2011). The Catalogue of Life Taxonomic Classification, Edition 2, Part A. In: Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2011 Annual Checklist (Bisby F.A., Roskov Y.R., Orrell T.M., Nicolson D., Paglinawan L.E., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., Ouvrard D., eds). DVD; Species 2000: Reading, UK.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 17, 2008:

• Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad
• , Biodiversidad de Costa Rica
• University of Helsinki, Department of Applied Biology, Rancho Grande

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2602675
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Lep-203901.0
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 14030235
• Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: IILEPF6010
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 172011

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]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.