Largest butterfly family
The
Nymphalidae
are the largest
family
of
butterflies
, with more than 6,000 species distributed throughout most of the world. Belonging to the superfamily
Papilionoidea
, they are usually medium-sized to large butterflies. Most species have a reduced pair of forelegs and many hold their colourful wings flat when resting. They are also called
brush-footed butterflies
or
four-footed butterflies
, because they are known to stand on only four legs while the other two are curled up; in some species, these forelegs have a brush-like set of hairs, which gives this family its other common name. Many species are brightly coloured and include popular species such as the
emperors
,
monarch butterfly
,
admirals
,
tortoiseshells
, and
fritillaries
. However, the under wings are, in contrast, often dull and in some species look remarkably like dead leaves, or are much paler, producing a
cryptic
effect that helps the butterflies blend into their surroundings.
Nomenclature
[
edit
]
Rafinesque
[1]
introduced the name Nymphalia as a subfamily name in diurnal Lepidoptera. Rafinesque did not include
Nymphalis
among the listed genera, but
Nymphalis
was unequivocally implied in the formation of the name (Code Article 11.7.1.1). The attribution of the Nymphalidae to Rafinesque has now been widely adopted.
[2]
Classification
[
edit
]
In the adult butterflies, the first pair of legs is small or reduced,
[3]
giving the family the other names of four-footed or brush-footed butterflies. The
caterpillars
are hairy or spiky with projections on the head, and the
chrysalids
have shiny spots.
The
forewings
have the submedial vein (vein 1) unbranched and in one subfamily forked near the base; the medial vein has three branches, veins 2, 3, and 4; veins 5 and 6 arise from the points of junction of the discocellulars; the subcostal vein and its continuation beyond the apex of cell, vein 7, has never more than four branches, veins 8?11; 8 and 9 always arise from vein 7, 10, and 11 sometimes from vein 7 but more often free, i.e., given off by the subcostal vein before apex of the cell.
[4]
The
hindwings
have internal (1a) and precostal veins. The cell in both wings is closed or open, often closed in the fore, open in the hindwing. The dorsal margin of the hindwing is channelled to receive the abdomen in many of the forms.
[4]
The
antennae
always have two grooves on the underside; the club is variable in shape. Throughout the family, the front pair of legs in the male, and with three exceptions (
Libythea
,
Pseudergolis
, and
Calinaga
) in the female also, is reduced in size and functionally impotent; in some, the
atrophy
of the forelegs is considerable, e.g., the
Danainae
and
Satyrinae
. In many of the forms of these subfamilies, the forelegs are kept pressed against the underside of the
thorax
, and are in the male often very inconspicuous.
[4]
Systematics and phylogeny
[
edit
]
The
phylogeny
of the Nymphalidae is complex. Several
taxa
are of unclear position, reflecting the fact that some
subfamilies
were formerly well-recognized as distinct families due to insufficient study.
The five main
clades
within the family are:
[5]
The
libytheine clade
(
basal
)
The
danaine clade
(
basal
)
- Danainae
(milkweed butterflies, earlier treated as the distinct family Danaidae)
- Host plant families include
Apocynaceae
,
Asclepiadoideae
(subfamily of
Apocynaceae
), and
Moraceae
.
- Most species have long wings, and some have transparent wings. Host plants are in the families
Apocynaceae
,
Gesneriaceae
, and
Solanaceae
.
- Caterpillars resemble those of the Danainae and feed on Apocynaceae.
The
satyrine clade
- Mimics of the
Danainae
, they are restricted to host plants in the family
Moraceae
.
[6]
- Tropical
canopy
butterflies, the caterpillars often have head spines or projections. Mostly edible species, have some
Batesian mimics
. Host plants are in the families
Annonaceae
,
Celastraceae
,
Convolvulaceae
,
Euphorbiaceae
,
Fabaceae
,
Flacourtiaceae
,
Lauraceae
,
Myrtaceae
,
Piperaceae
,
Poaceae
,
Rhamnaceae
,
Rutaceae
,
Santalaceae
, and
Sapindaceae
.
[6]
- Include the spectacular neotropical
Morpho
, its food plants include the
Arecaceae
,
Bignoniaceae
, Fabaceae,
Menispermaceae
, Poaceae, and Sapindaceae.
- Host plants in the families Arecaceae,
Bromeliaceae
,
Heliconiaceae
,
Musaceae
, and Poaceae.
[6]
- Satyrinae
(satyrs and browns, earlier treated as distinct family Satyridae)
- Host plants are in the families Arecaceae,
Araceae
,
Cyperaceae
, Heliconiaceae, Poaceae, and
Selaginellaceae
.
The
heliconiine clade
(
sister group
of the nymphaline clade, excludes former
tribes
Biblidini
and
Cyrestini
, and tribes Pseudergolini and Coeini)
- Heliconiinae
(earlier treated as distinct family Heliconiidae)
- Colourful tropical butterflies, they are noted for
Mullerian mimicry
. All species use host plants in the family
Passifloraceae
.
- Acraeini
(mostly African, but some species in Asia, sometimes considered a family
Acraeinae
)
- Host plants are in the families
Asteraceae
, Passifloraceae,
Sterculiaceae
,
Tiliaceae
, and
Urticaceae
.
The
nymphaline clade
(
sister group
of the heliconiine clade, also includes tribes
Coeini
and
Pseudergolini
)
- Host plants are in the family
Ulmaceae
. Caterpillars are smooth with bifid tails and horns on the head.
[6]
- Some species
migrate
. Caterpillars are sometimes covered in spines. Host plants include Acanthaceae,
Caprifoliaceae
,
Convolvulaceae
,
Euphorbiaceae
, Fagaceae,
Flacourtiaceae
, Lamiaceae,
Loranthaceae
, Moraceae,
Plantaginaceae
, Poaceae, Rubiaceae, Rutaceae,
Salicaceae
,
Sapindaceae
,
Scrophulariaceae
, Urticaceae, and
Verbenaceae
.
[6]
Example species from this family
[
edit
]
- Archdukes
, genus
Lexias
- California tortoiseshell
,
Nymphalis californica
- Comma
,
Polygonia c-album
- Common buckeye
,
Junonia coenia
- Common snout butterfly
,
Libytheana carinenta
- Cracker butterflies, genus
Hamadryas
- Crimson patch
,
Chlosyne janais
- Edith's checkerspot
,
Euphydryas editha
- Grayling (butterfly)
,
Hipparchia semele
- Hackberry emperor
,
Asterocampa celtis
- Lorquin's admiral
,
Limenitis lorquini
- Marsh fritillary
,
Euphydryas aurinia
- Meadow brown
,
Maniola jurtina
- Mourning cloak
,
Nymphalis antiopa
- Monarch butterfly
,
Danaus plexippus
- Blue morpho
,
Morpho menelaus
- Painted lady
,
Vanessa cardui
- Peacock
,
Aglais io
- Plain tiger
,
Danaus chrysippus
- Question mark
,
Polygonia interrogationis
- Red admiral
,
Vanessa atalanta
- Small heath
,
Coenonympha pamphilus
- Small tortoiseshell
,
Nymphalis urticae
- Gatekeeper
,
Pyronia tithonus
- Small pearl-bordered fritillary
,
Boloria selene
- Andromeda satyr
,
Cithaerias andromeda
- Texan crescentspot butterfly
,
Anthanassa texana texana
- Zerene fritillary
,
Speyeria zerene
(includes several subspecies such as
Oregon silverspot
,
Speyeria zerene hippolyta
)
Morphology
[
edit
]
The trait for which these butterflies are most known is the use of only four legs; the reason their forelegs have become vestigial is not yet completely clear. Some suggest the forelegs are used to amplify the sense of smell, because some species possess a brush-like set of soft hair called
setae
, which has led researchers to believe the forelegs are used to improve signaling and communication between the species, while standing in the other four. This ability proves useful in terms of reproduction and the overall health of the species, and it is the leading theory so far.
[7]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Rafinesque, C.S. (1815).
Analyse de la Nature, ou Tableau de l'Univers et des Corps Organises.
Jean Barravecceia: Palermo. 224 pages, p 127.
- ^
Vane-Wright & de Jong, 2003: 167; Pelham, 2008; Wahlberg, 2010
- ^
Wolfe, Joanna M.; Oliver, Jeffrey C.; Monteiro, Antonia (2011-01-01).
"Evolutionary reduction of the first thoracic limb in butterflies"
.
Journal of Insect Science
.
11
(1): 66.
doi
:
10.1673/031.011.6601
.
ISSN
1536-2442
.
PMC
3281478
.
PMID
21867433
.
- ^
a
b
c
Bingham, C. T.
(1905).
The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma
: Butterflies Volume I
. London:
Taylor and Francis, Ltd.
- ^
Niklas Wahlberg, Elisabet Weingartner & Soren Nylin (2003). Gisella Caccone & Giacomo Bernardi (ed.).
"Papers presented at the Mammalian Phylogeny symposium during the 2002 Annual Meeting of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution, Sorrento, Italy, June 13?16, 2002 (Chapter: Towards a better understanding of the higher systematics of Nymphalidae (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea))"
(PDF)
.
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
.
28
(3): 473?484.
doi
:
10.1016/S1055-7903(03)00052-6
.
PMID
12927132
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 2007-10-25.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Philip J. DeVries
(2001). "Nymphalidae". In
Simon A. Levin
(ed.).
Encyclopedia of Biodiversity
.
Academic Press
. pp.
559
?573.
doi
:
10.1016/B0-12-226865-2/00039-0
.
ISBN
978-0-12-226865-6
.
- ^
Gould, S. E.
"Butterfly watch: four legs vs. six legs"
.
Scientific American
. Retrieved
7 Sep
2013
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Glassberg, Jeffrey
Butterflies through Binoculars, The West
(2001)
- Guppy, Crispin S. and Shepard, Jon H.
Butterflies of British Columbia
(2001)
- James, David G. and Nunnallee, David
Life Histories of Cascadia Butterflies
(2011)
- Pelham, Jonathan
Catalogue of the Butterflies of the United States and Canada
(2008)
- Pyle, Robert Michael
The Butterflies of Cascadia
(2002)
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
|
|
|
|
|
---|
| H
e
t
e
r
o
n
e
u
r
a
| M
o
n
o
t
r
y
s
i
a
| |
---|
D
i
t
r
y
s
i
a
| Simaethistoidea
| |
---|
Tineoidea
| |
---|
Gracillarioidea
| |
---|
Yponomeutoidea
| |
---|
Gelechioidea
| |
---|
Galacticoidea
| |
---|
Zygaenoidea
| |
---|
Cossoidea
| |
---|
Sesioidea
| |
---|
Choreutoidea
| |
---|
Tortricoidea
| |
---|
Urodoidea
| |
---|
Schreckensteinioidea
| |
---|
Epermenioidea
| |
---|
Alucitoidea
| |
---|
Pterophoroidea
| |
---|
Whalleyanoidea
| |
---|
Immoidea
| |
---|
Copromorphoidea
| |
---|
Thyridoidea
| |
---|
Calliduloidea
| |
---|
Papilionoidea
(
butterflies
)
| |
---|
Hyblaeoidea
| |
---|
Pyraloidea
| |
---|
Mimallonoidea
| |
---|
Lasiocampoidea
| |
---|
Bombycoidea
| |
---|
Noctuoidea
|
- Erebidae
(underwing, tiger, tussock, litter, snout, owlet moths)
- Euteliidae
- Noctuidae
(daggers, sallows, owlet moths, quakers, cutworms, darts)
- Nolidae
(tuft moths)
- Notodontidae
(prominents, kittens)
- Oenosandridae
|
---|
Drepanoidea
| |
---|
Geometroidea
| |
---|
Superfamily unassigned
| |
---|
|
|
---|
|
---|
|
|
|
|