Ithomiini
| Ithomiini | |
|---|---|
| |
| Pteronomyia apuleiafromBolivia | |
Scientific classification
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Nymphalidae |
| Subfamily: | Danainae |
| Tribe: | Ithomiini Godman&Salvin,1879 |
| Genera | |
|
43 genera,see text | |
| Diversity | |
| c. 370 species | |
Ithomiiniis abutterflytribein thenymphalidsubfamilyDanainae.It is sometimes referred to as the tribe ofclearwing butterfliesorglasswing butterflies.Some authors consider the group to be asubfamily(Ithomiinae). These butterflies are exclusivelyNeotropical,found in humid forests from sea level to 3000 m, from Mexico to Argentina. There are around 370 species in some 40–45 genera.
Ithomiini biology
[edit]Ithomiines are unpalatable because their adults seek out and sequesterpyrrolizidine alkaloidsfrom plants that they visit, especially composite flowers (Asteraceae) and wilted borages (Boraginaceae). The slow-flying adults areMüllerian mimicsof each other as well as of many other Lepidoptera.Henry Walter Batesreferred to a "transparency group" ofAmazonbutterfly species. It was originally with seven species belonging to six different genera.Reginald Punnettsuggested 28 species of this peculiar facies are known, though some are excessively rare. The majority are ithomiines, but two species of the Danaine genusLycorea,the pierineDismorphia orisethe swallow-tailParides hahneli,and several species of diurnalmothsbelonging to different families also enter into the combination. Identification of adult ithomiines relies on hindwing venation and maleandroconialscales (sex brushes located on the hindwing costa).
The group has repeatedly been proposed as biological indicators of ecological conditions or biological diversity within neotropical forests, but individual sites harbor between 10 and 50 species, for the most part, and beta diversity is often great, even over relatively short distances.
Ithomiine larvae feed mostly onSolanaceaehost plants. Exceptions are the more basal generaTithorea,Aeria,andElzuniathat, likeTellervoand someDanainae,feed on Echiteae vines (Apocynaceae,Apocynoideae), as well asMegoleriaandHyposcadathat feed onGesneriaceae.
The local abundance of ithomiine butterflies in the Amazon forest, the lack of observations of predation, and their "peculiar smell" ledHenry Walter Batesin 1867 to suggest that these organisms should be chemically defended. This was first experimentally demonstrated in 1889 whenThomas Beltfed ithomiines (that he called "Heliconii" ) to birds, the spiderNephila,and the white faced monkeyCebus capucinus.The butterflies were consistently rejected, but other insects were eaten.Lincoln P. Browerin 1964 also showed that adults ofIthomia drymo pellucidawere rejected by theblue jayCyanocitta cristata bromia,and Haber showed that nine species of birds also rejected several ithomiine species. Besides, João Vasconcellos-Neto and Thomas M. Lewinsohn demonstrated that the Neotropical orb-weaving spiderNephila clavipesreleased unharmed 14 species of field-caught ithomiine butterflies.[1]
The source of the protecting chemicals in the bodies of adult ithomiines proved not to be their larval host plants, as was first suggested, but rather in plants visited by the butterflies. Adults of ithomiine, mainly males, visit flowers of some Boraginaceae, (Tournefortia,Heliotropium),Asteraceae(mostly in the tribeEupatorieae,and rarely onSeneciospecies),Apocynaceae(Prestonia,belonging to the tribe Echiteae) andOrchidaceae(Epidendrum paniculatum). Dead or withered plants are also visited and, when feeding on these plants, the butterflies scratch the tissues with their legs and suck the oozing sap. These plants are known to containpyrrolizidine alkaloids,indicating their role as chemical sources for sequestration. Other butterfly and moth species that sequester pyrrolizidine alkaloids (Danainae,Ctenuchidae,andArctiidae) also visit similar sources. The first demonstration that pyrrolizidine alkaloids were involved in the chemical defense of insects was given byThomas Eisner,who showed that the spidersNephilaandArgioperejected adults of the arctiid mothUtetheisa ornatrixthat contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids from their larval host plant,Crotalaria(Fabaceae: Crotalarieae). Eisner's best-selling popular science bookFor Love of Insectstells the story of this exciting discovery.
Ithomiini classification
[edit]The subtribes in the Ithomiini help to organize the 43 recognized genera, but this group is the subject of ongoing molecular, phylogenetic and morphological research, and the classification presented below will no doubt be refined in the near future.
The sister group to the tribe Ithomiini is either the small tribeTellervini(containing the single Australasian genusTellervo) or the larger tribeDanaini.The relationships of the three tribes in the subfamilyDanainaeare still unclear.
- Source:"The higher classification of Nymphalidae".Nymphalidae.net.Archived February 20, 2009.
- Note: A species list with proposed new tribes for subfamily Ithomiinae is available fromKeith Willmottat[1].
- Note: Names preceded by an equal sign (=) are synonyms, homonyms, rejected names or invalid names.
TribeIthomiiniGodman & Salvin, 1879
- SubtribeTithoreinaFox, 1940
- SubtribeMelinaeinaClark, 1947
- SubtribeMechanitinaBar, 1878
- MethonaDoubleday, 1847(=Gelotophyed'Almeida, 1940)
- ThyridiaHübner, 1816(=XanthocleisBoisduval, 1870;=AprotopusKirby, 1871;=AprotoposKirby, 1871)
- ScadaKirby, 1871(= homonymSalaciaHübner, 1823;=HeteroscadaSchatz, 1886)
- SaisHübner, 1816
- ForbestraFox, 1967
- MechanitisFabricius, 1807(= homonymNereisHübner, 1806;= unavailable nameHymenitisIlliger, 1807;=EpimetesBillberg, 1820)
- SubtribeNapeogenina
- AremfoxiaRéal, 1971
- Epitychesd'Almeida, 1938(= homonymTritoniaGeyer, 1832)
- HyalyrisBoisduval, 1870(=OreogenesStichel, 1899)
- NapeogenesBates, 1862(= homonymCeratoniaBoisduval, 1870;=ChoridisBoisduval, 1870)
- HypothyrisHübner, 1821(=Mansuetad'Almeida, 1922;=PseudomechanitisRöber, 1930;=Garsauritisd'Almeida, 1938;=Rhodussad'Almeida, 1939)
- SubtribeIthomiinaGodman & Salvin, 1879
- SubtribeOleriina
- SubtribeDircenninad'Almeida, 1941
- CeratiniaHübner, 1816(=CalloleriaGodman & Salvin, 1879;=EpileriaRebel, 1902;=TeraciniaRöber, 1910)
- CallithomiaBates, 1862(=CleodisBoisduval, 1870;=EpithomiaGodman & Salvin, 1879;=CorbulisBoisduval, 1870;=LeithomiaMasters, 1973)
- DircennaDoubleday, 1847
- HyalennaForbes, 1942
- EpiscadaGodman & Salvin, 1879(=CeratiscadaBrown & d'Almeida, 1970;=PrittwitziaBrown, Mielke & Ebert, 1970)
- HaenschiaLamas, 2004
- PteronymiaButler & H. Druce, 1872(=ErnicornisCapronnier, 1874;=ParapteronymiaKremky, 1925;=TalamancanaHaber, Brown & Freitas, 1994)
- SubtribeGodyridina
- VelamystaHaensch, 1909
- GodyrisBoisduval, 1870(=DismenitisHaensch, 1903;=DygorisFox, 1945)
- VeladyrisFox, 1945
- HypoleriaGodman & Salvin, 1879(= homonymPigritiad'Almeida, 1922;= homonymPigritinaHedicke, 1923;= homonymHeringiad'Almeida, 1924)
- BrevioleriaLamas, 2004
- McclungiaFox, 1940
- GretaHemming, 1934(= homonymHymenitisHübner, 1819;=HypomenitisFox, 1945)
- HeterosaisGodman & Salvin, 1880(=Rhadinopterad'Almeida, 1922)
- PseudoscadaGodman & Salvin, 1879(=Languidad'Almeida, 1922)
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Vasconcellos-Neto, João & Lewinsohn, Thomas M (August 1984)."Discrimination and release of unpalatable butterflies byNephila clavipes,a Neotropical orb-weaving spider ".Ecological Entomology.9(3): 337–344.Bibcode:1984EcoEn...9..337V.doi:10.1111/j.1365-2311.1984.tb00857.x.S2CID83792953.
- Lamas, G. (1999). "Nymphalidae II Pt. 3 Ithomiinae". In: E. Bauer & T. Frankenbach (Eds.),Butterflies of the World.(pp. 1–17). Keltern, Germany: Goecke & Evers.ISBN978-3-931374-66-2.16 color plates - illustrates 252 specimens covering subset of the 320 known species, many of which are divided into subspecies.
- Brown Jr., K. S. & Freitas, A. V. L. (1994)."Juvenile stages of Ithomiinae: overview and systematics (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)".Tropical Lepidoptera.5(1): 9-20.
External links
[edit]
Media related toIthomiiniat Wikimedia Commons
- Illustrated ChecklistFlorida Museum
- TOL
- General information on ithomiine butterflies
- PteronIn Japanese butbinomialnames. Three pages. This page isMechanitis.
- Learn about butterfliesExcellent photos of mimicry inMethona confusa
- Richard Haensch,in Seitz, A. (1907).The Macrolepidoptera of the World.5: The Macrolepidoptera of the American faunistic region. Danaidae: 113-171.