Lycaeides idas

• Overview
• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• 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]

Habitat

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 3,925 meters (0 to 12,877 feet).[3]

Taxonomy

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Similar Species

Members of the genus Lycaeides

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 11 species and subspecies in this genus:

L. argyrognomon (Northern Blue Butterfly) · L. argyrognomon argyrognomon (Northern Blue Butterfly) · L. argyrognomon lotis (Lotis Blue) · L. idas (Northern Blue) · L. idas idas (Northern Blue) · L. idas lotis (Lotis Blue Butterfly) · L. melissa (Karner Blue) · L. melissa fridayi (Friday's Melissa Blue) · L. melissa melissa (Orange-Bordered Blue) · L. melissa samuelis (Karner Blue) · L. samuelis (Karner Blue Butterfly)

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. 252, p. 27, p. 30, p. 438.
• British journal of entomology and natural history. [London]: British Entomological and Natural History Society, 1988- url p. 42.
• 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. 10, p. 76, p. 8, p. 82.
• Opinions and declarations rendered by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. London, Printed by order of the International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature. url p. 8.
• Proceedings and transactions of the British Entomological and Natural History Society. London, British Entomological and Natural History Society. url p. 10, p. 104, p. 105, p. 14, p. 98.
• The Lepidopterists' news: the monthly newsletter of the Lepidopterists' Society. Cambridge, Mass.: Lepidopterists' Society, 1947-1958. url p. 107.

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 February 17, 2008:

• Biologiezentrum der Oberoesterreichischen Landesmuseen, Biologiezentrum Linz
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, St. Johns, Newfoundland
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Alan Wormington Collection
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Atlantic Forestry Centre Insect Reference Collection
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Canadian National Collection
• of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Crispin S. Guppy Collection
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, E.C. Manning Park Collection
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Gerald Hilchie Collection
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Lepidopterists Society Season Summaries 1973-1997
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Lyman Entomological Museum
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Memorial University Department of Biology Collection
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, New Brunswick Museum Collection
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources, Subenacadie, NS, Canada
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History, Halifax, NS, Canada
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Ross A. Layberry Observations
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Royal British Columbia Museum Entomology Collection
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Royal Ontario Museum: Entomology
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, The Provincial Museum of Newfoundland and Labrador Natural History Collection
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, University of Guelph, Department of Environmental Biology
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, University of New Brunswick Collection
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, University of Western Ontario Collection

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2602677
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Lep-204037.0
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 14031207
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 16199

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]
3. Mean = 880.480 meters (2,888.714 feet), Standard Deviation = 617.600 based on 1,405 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.