Lycaenidae
| Lycaenidae | |
|---|---|
| File:Common blue butterfly underside 800.jpg | |
| Common Blue | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Division: | |
| Phylum: | |
| Class: | |
| Order: | |
| Superfamily: | |
| Family: | Lycaenidae Leach, 1815
|
| Subfamilies | |
|
Lycaeninae - Coppers | |
The Lycaenidae or copper butterfly are a large family of butterflies, also known as the gossamer-winged butterflies. They comprise about 40 % of all known butterfly species[1]. Subfamilies include the blues Polyommatinae, the coppers Lycaeninae, the hairstreaks Theclinae and the harvesters Miletinae.
Lycaenids feed on various kinds of food including ferns, conifers, fungi, lichens, cycads, homopterans and ant larvae.
Some species:
- Spalgis epius, Apefly
- Polyommatus icarus, Common Blue
- Polyommatus semiargus, Mazarine Blue
- Euphilotes battoides allyni, El Segundo blue butterfly
- Atlides halesus, Great Purple Hairstreak
- Maculinea arion, Large blue butterfly
- Glaucopsyche lygdamus palosverdesensis, Palos Verdes Blue
- Glaucopsyche xerces (extinct), Xerces Blue
- Eumaeus atala, Atala
References
- ^ Venktesha, M. G. (2005). Why is homopterophagous butterfly, Spalgis epius (Westwood) (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) amyrmecophilous? Current Science 89 (2), 245–246.
External links
 | This butterfly-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |