Lycaenidae is a family of butterflies known as the gossamer-winged butterflies, comprising more than 6,000 species and making it the second-largest butterfly family after Nymphalidae, accounting for roughly thirty percent of all known butterfly species. Members are typically small, usually under five centimeters across, often blue or green with a metallic sheen. The family is divided into eight subfamilies, including the blues, coppers, hairstreaks and harvesters. More than half of lycaenid species associate with ants in relationships called myrmecophily, which can be mutualistic, parasitic or predatory; larvae often have flattened bodies and glands that produce secretions attractive to ants, and some can generate vibrations to communicate with their ant partners. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Classification
Living or Extinct Taxonomic Rank Connections
Parent Taxon Of
Source Wikidata: Dapidodigma hymen
Sources
1. Wikidata (taxon extant/extinct status)
Wikimedia Foundation / Wikidata contributorsQ158717, descriptionView the Source 2. Lycaenidae (Wikipedia)
Introduction
Lycaenidae is a family of butterflies with over 6,000 species worldwide; its members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies.
- Taxonomic rank (structure-wave classification, ruling 761/926)
View the SourceWikidata: Lycaenidae
Wikidata Q158717, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source Wikidata: Dapidodigma hymen
Parent Taxon Of: Dapidodigma hymen, Wikidata parent-taxon (P171) chainView the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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