Nymphidium

Nymphidium Nymphidium
Nymphidium haematostichum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Riodinidae
Subfamily: Riodininae
Genus: Nymphidium
Fabricius, 1807
Synonyms
  • Limnas Hübner, [1806] (suppr.)
  • Peplia Hübner, [1819]
  • Eulepis Billberg, 1820
  • Heliochlaena Hübner, 1821
  • Desmozona Boisduval, 1836
  • Tyanitis Doubleday, 1847
  • Tyanitis Westwood, 1851
  • Nymphopsis Reuter, 1896 (preocc. Haswell, 1865)

Nymphidium is a genus in the butterfly family Riodinidae present only in the Neotropical ecozone.

Some Nymphidium are obviously secondarily transformed by mimicry, otherwise the almost exclusive colours are brown and white either of which being now and then preponderant. The wings have a normal shape without indentations, tail-appendages, lobing or coiling. The larva is shaped like a wood-louse, hunched, green, sometimes with a yellow lateral streak, the neck organ out of a transverse row of green spikes or bristles. It has a guard of ants. The pupa is green, fastened by a belt-like thread. The butterflies rest on the under surface of leaves and are chased up by beating the bushes, whereupon they fly like Geometridae for some paces, in order to hide themselves again. The swarming-time seems to be dawn, or the early morning, but I came across them yet in the sunshine of the morning on blossoms.They are easily taken and fly low.[1]


Species

Source

  1. Seitz, A. 1916. Family:Erycinidae. In A. Seitz (editor), Macrolepidoptera of the world,vol. 5:617–738. Stuttgart: Alfred Kernen. also available as pdf

External links

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