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.
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]
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
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 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]
nymphalidae, largest, family, butterflies, with, more, than, species, distributed, throughout, most, world, belonging, superfamily, papilionoidea, they, usually, medium, sized, large, butterflies, most, species, have, reduced, pair, forelegs, many, hold, their. 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 NymphalidaeScientific classificationKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ArthropodaClass InsectaOrder LepidopteraSuperfamily PapilionoideaFamily NymphalidaeRafinesque 1815SubfamiliesApaturinae Biblidinae Calinaginae Charaxinae Cyrestinae Danainae Heliconiinae Libytheinae Limenitidinae Morphinae Nymphalinae Satyrinaeand see article textDiversityOver 600 generaAbout 5 700 species Contents 1 Nomenclature 2 Classification 2 1 Systematics and phylogeny 2 2 Example species from this family 3 Morphology 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External linksNomenclature EditRafinesque 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 EditFor an explanation of technical terms see External morphology of Lepidoptera 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 A specimen of Andromeda satyr Cithaerias andromeda 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 Libytheinae snout butterflies earlier treated as the distinct family Libytheidae 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 Ithomiini about 300 Neotropical species sometimes considered a subfamily Ithomiinae Most species have long wings and some have transparent wings Host plants are in the families Apocynaceae Gesneriaceae and Solanaceae Tellervini about 6 10 species in Australasia sometimes considered a subfamily Tellervinae Caterpillars resemble those of the Danainae and feed on Apocynaceae dd The satyrine clade Calinaginae about six species restricted to the Himalayas Mimics of the Danainae they are restricted to host plants in the family Moraceae 6 CharaxinaeTropical 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 Morphinae including Amathusiini sometimes considered a subfamily Amathusiinae Include the spectacular neotropical Morpho its food plants include the Arecaceae Bignoniaceae Fabaceae Menispermaceae Poaceae and Sapindaceae Brassolini owls neotropical with 70 80 species mostly crepuscular sometimes considered a subfamily Brassolinae Host plants in the families Arecaceae Bromeliaceae Heliconiaceae Musaceae and Poaceae 6 dd 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 dd LimenitidinaeThe nymphaline clade sister group of the heliconiine clade also includes tribes Coeini and Pseudergolini Apaturinae mostly tropical Host plants are in the family Ulmaceae Caterpillars are smooth with bifid tails and horns on the head 6 Biblidinae formerly in Limenitidinae Cyrestinae formerly in Limenitidinae Nymphalinae a large subfamily that sometimes includes the Limenitidinae and Biblidinae 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 andromedaMorphology EditThe 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 Insects portal Arthropods portalList of fritillaries butterflies 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 amp 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 amp Soren Nylin 2003 Gisella Caccone amp 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 EditGlassberg 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 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nymphalidae Wikispecies has information related to Nymphalidae Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility 2003 Family Nymphalidae Nymphalidae Family Nymphalidae Insecta pro Peter Chew Danaids and Browns Family Nymphalidae Brisbane butterflies web site 2005 Tree of Life Web Project Nymphalidae Nymphalidae from all over the world Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Nymphalidae amp oldid 1108604682, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
