Lycaenidae

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.