Leptotes marina

• 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 and southwestern open areas including mesquite scrub , city gardens, desert, alfalfa fields , and waste areas.

Biology

Diet

Caterpillar hosts: Leadwort (Plumbago) and many legumes including alfalfa (Medicago sativa), milkvetch (Astragalus), and mesquite (Prosopis). Adult food: Flower nectar.

Reproduction

Males patrol to find females. Eggs are laid singly on flower buds of the host plant; caterpillars eat flowers and seedpods.

Behavior

Flight: April-September in the north, all through the year in South Texas and southern California.

Taxonomy

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Similar Species

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

• Annotated checklist of the butterflies of Illinois [by] Roderick R. Irwin [and] John C. Downey. Urbana, Illinois Natural History Survey, 1973. url p. 22, p. 37.
• Bibliography (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) / Charles A. Bridges. Urbana, Ill.: C.A. Bridges, c1993. url p. 266.
• Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences. Los Angeles, Calif.: The Academy, 1902-1971. url p. 179, p. 81.
• Catalog of hymenoptera in America north of Mexico / prepared cooperatively by specialists on the various groups of Hymenoptera under the direction of Karl V. Krombein. .. [et al.]. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1979- url p. 2631.
• 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. 60.
• Entomological contributions in memory of Byron A. Alexander / edited by George W. Byers, Robert H. Hagen and Robert W. Brooks. Lawrence, Kan.: Natural History Museum, the University of Kansas, 1999. url p. 75.
• Entomological news. [Philadelphia]American Entomological Society, 1925- url , p. 100, p. 123, p. 161, p. 254, p. 258, p. 278, p. 289, p. 6.
• Journal of the Kentucky Academy of Science. Lexington, KY: The Academy, 1998- url p. 87, p. 87.
• Phytologia. Bronx Park, New York, H.A. Gleason and H.N. Moldenke, url p. 303.
• Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, 4th series. San Francisco, California Academy of Sciences. url , p. 185, p. 303.
• The Great Basin naturalist. 59 1999 Provo, Utah: M.L. Bean Life Science Museum, Brigham Young University, 1939-1999. url p. 56.
• The Lepidopterists' news: the monthly newsletter of the Lepidopterists' Society. Cambridge, Mass.: Lepidopterists' Society, 1947-1958. url p. 63, p. 87, p. 90.
• 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.
• Transactions of the San Diego Society of Natural History. 6 1930 [San Diego]: The Society, 1905-1989. url p. 26, p. 401.

Notes

Contributors

• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed February 17, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 5 providers.
• LepIndex: The Global Lepidoptera Names Index. Release date: June 15, 2005
• Opler, Paul A., Kelly Lotts, and Thomas Naberhaus, coordinators. 2009. Butterflies and Moths of North America. Bozeman, MT: Big Sky Institute. http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/ (Version of April 17, 2009).
• 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:

• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saskatoon
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Alan Wormington Collection
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Canadian National Collection
• of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Point Pelee National Park Collection, Canada

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2602676
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Lep-203907.0
• Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: IILEPF6020
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 172012

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.