Miletinae
Miletinae is a subfamily of the Lycaenidae family of butterflies, commonly called Harvesters and Woolly Legs, and virtually unique among butterflies in having predatory larvae. Miletinae are entirely aphytophagous (do not feed on plants). The ecology of the Miletinae is little understood but adults and larvae live in association with ants and most known species feed on Hemiptera (aphids, coccids, membracids and psyllids), though some, like Liphyra, feed on the ants themselves. The butterflies, ants and hemipterans, in some cases, seem to have complex symbiotic relationships benefiting all.[1]
Systematics
- Tribe Miletini
- Subtribe Miletina
- Subtribe Spalgina
- Subtribe Lachnocnemina
- Tribe Liphyrini
- Tribe Tarakini Eliot, 1973
References
- ↑ Lohman, D.J.; Samarita, V.U. 2009: The biology of carnivorous butterfly larvae (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae: Miletinae: Miletini) and their ant-tended hemipteran prey in Thailand and the Philippines. Journal of natural history, 43: 569-581.
- Bernard d'Abrera (1986) Butterflies of the Oriental Region. Part 3: Lycaenidae and Riodinidae Hill House Publishers ISBN 0-9593639-4-7
- Bernard d'Abrera, (1980) Butterflies of the Afrotropical region based on Synonymic catalogue of the butterflies of the Ethiopian region by R.H. Carcasson. Lansdown Editions in association with E.W. Classey, Melbourne ISBN 0-7018-1029-7
External links
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