Polyommatinae

Polyommatinae
	Polyommatus icarus, in Austria.
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Superfamily:	Papilionoidea
Family:	Lycaenidae
Subfamily:	Polyommatinae; Swainson, 1827
Tribes
	Candalidini; Lycaenesthini; Niphandini; Polyommatini;

Polyommatinae, the blues, are a diverse subfamily of gossamer-winged butterflies (family Lycaenidae).

This subfamily was long used to assign taxa of unclear relationships, and its contents and phylogeny are still in need of revision. The following four tribes are generally recognized within Polyommatinae,^[1] with Polyommatini comprising most of the genera and species:

Candalidini Eliot 1973
Lycaenesthini Toxopeus 1929
Niphandini Eliot 1973
Polyommatini Swainson 1827

The polyommatinae have variations of blue wing colouration which are due to the differences in the nanostructure of the body scales. ^[2]

References

^ Tolweb
^ VéRtesy, Z.; BáLint, Zs.; KertéSz, K.; Vigneron, J. P.; Lousse, V.; Biró, L. P. (2006-11). "Wing scale microstructures and nanostructures in butterflies − natural photonic crystals". Journal of Microscopy. 224 (1): 108–110. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2818.2006.01678.x. ISSN 0022-2720. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

External links

Savela, Markku. "Polyommatinae". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
Tolweb.
Butterflies and Moths of North America
Butterflies of America

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[1] Tolweb

[2] VéRtesy, Z.; BáLint, Zs.; KertéSz, K.; Vigneron, J. P.; Lousse, V.; Biró, L. P. (2006-11). "Wing scale microstructures and nanostructures in butterflies − natural photonic crystals". Journal of Microscopy. 224 (1): 108–110. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2818.2006.01678.x. ISSN 0022-2720. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

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