| Theclinae | |
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| Red-banded hairstreak | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Superfamily: | Papilionoidea |
| Family: | Lycaenidae |
| Subfamily: | Theclinae Swainson, 1831 |
| Tribes | |
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See text | |
The subfamily Theclinae is a group of butterflies, often referred to as hairstreaks, with some species instead known as elfins or by other names. The group is part of the family Lycaenidae, the "gossamer-winged butterflies". There are many tropical species as well as a number found in the Americas. Tropical hairstreaks often have iridescent blue coloration above, caused by reflected light from the structure of the wing scales rather than by pigment. Hairstreaks from North America are commonly brown above. Few Theclinae are migratory. Members of this group are described as 'thecline'.
Systematics
The systematics and phylogeny of the numerous Theclinae has not reached a robust consensus yet. The arrangement presented here is based on Savela (2007), but be aware that it is probably oversplit and several tribes may not be valid. Nonetheless, the tribes as listed here generally seem to represent monophyletic lineages, but whether this is indeed so and whether these are distinct enough to warrant this level of separation remains to be resolved.
The former tribe Aphnaeini has now been given subfamily status (see Aphnaeinae).
Tribes
The subfamily includes the following tribes:
- Amblypodiini
- Arhopalini
- Catapaecilmatini
- Cheritrini
- Deudorigini
- Eumaeini
- Horagini
- Hypolycaenini
- Hypotheclini
- Iolaini
- Loxurini
- Luciini
- Oxylidini
- Remelanini
- Theclini
- Tomarini
- Zesiini
Genera of incertae sedis
The following genera have not yet been assigned to a tribe:
- Bithys
- Gigantorubra
- Macusia
- Mercedes
- Orcya
- Pamela
- Parachilades
- Pirhites
- Serratofalca
- Terra
- Thaumaina
References
- Boyle, J.H., Kaliszewska, Z.A., Espeland, M., Suderman, T.R., Fleming, J., Heath, A., & Pierce, N.E., 2015. Phylogeny of the Aphnaeinae: myrmecophilous African butterflies with carnivorous and herbivorous life histories. Systematic entomology 40(1): 169–182.
- Opler, Paul (1999). Field Guide to Western Butterflies, A. Amy Bartlett Wright (ill.) (2nd ed.). Boston; New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
- Savela, Markku (2007): Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and some other life forms: Theclinae. Version of 2007-APR-5. Retrieved 2007-MAY-30.
- "Lycanaedae - Theclinae". Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Archived from the original on 2006-07-19. Retrieved 2006-07-22.
Further reading
- Glassberg, Jeffrey Butterflies through Binoculars, The West (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
- Atlides halesus, great purple hairstreak on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures Web site
- Calycopis cecrops, redbanded hairstreak on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures Web site
- Parrhasius m-album, white M hairstreak on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures Web site
- Butterflies and Moths of North America
- Butterflies of America
| Taxon identifiers | |
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| Theclinae | |
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