Cynthia (butterfly)

Last updated

Cynthia
2016.07.04.-26-Eilenburg-Ost--Distelfalter.jpg
Vanessa cardui
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Vanessa
Subgenus: Cynthia
Fabricius, 1807

Cynthia is a group of colourful butterfly species that used to be considered a subgenus of the genus Vanessa , in the family Nymphalidae. Before that, it was first described as a genus. Nowadays, this group is not considered a valid taxon anymore, because it is paraphyletic. [1] The name CynthiaFabricius, 1807 is now a junior subjective synonym of Vanessa Fabricius, 1807. [2]

Contents

In English, the species of the Cynthia group are sometimes collectively referred to as the painted ladies, although the name "painted lady" usually specifically refers to the near-cosmopolitan species Vanessa cardui .

The Cynthia group includes at least five species (to which some authors add other South American Vanessa species):

Distinguishing features

The Painted lady (V. cardui) is a large butterfly (wing span 5–9 cm (2.0–3.5 in)) identified by the black and white corners of its mainly deep orange, black-spotted wings. It has five white spots in the black forewing tips and while the orange areas may be pale here and there, there are no clean white dots in them. The hindwings carry four small submarginal eyespots on the dorsal and ventral sides. Those on the dorsal side are black, but in the summer morph sometimes small blue pupils are present.

The Australian painted lady (V. kershawi) is quite similar to V. cardui. Its four ventral eyespots are less clearly defined, and it always sports at least three (often four) blue pupil spots on its dorsal hindwing. Caterpillars are found mainly on Ammobium alatum .

The American painted lady (V. virginiensis) is most easily distinguishable by its two large hindwing eyespots on the ventral side. V. virginiensis also features a white dot within the subapical field of the forewings set in pink on the ventral side, and often as a smaller clean white dot in the orange of the dorsal side too. A less reliable indicator is the row of eyespots on the dorsal submarginal hindwing; V. virginiensis often has two larger outer spots with blue pupils. The black forewing tips have four to five white spots; usually the largest is whitish orange.

The West Coast lady (V. annabella) and the Western painted lady (V. carye) are two very similar-looking species that occur in separate ranges (North and South America, respectively). They do not have obvious ventral eyespots. On the dorsal side, they lack the white dot in the subapical orange found in V. virginiensis, and are a purer orange color. V. annabella and V. carye have a fully orange subapical band and leading edge on the forewing. Their submarginal row of hindwing spots features three or four blue pupils. Their two larger pupils are the inner spots, rather than the outer spots as in corresponding V. virginiensis.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Coast lady</span> Species of butterfly

The West Coast lady is one of three North American species of brush-footed butterflies known colloquially as the "painted ladies". V. annabella occurs throughout much of the western US and southwestern Canada. The other two species are the cosmopolitan Vanessa cardui and the eastern Vanessa virginiensis. This species has also been considered a subspecies of the South American Vanessa carye and is frequently misspelled as "anabella".

<i>Vanessa cardui</i> Species of butterfly

Vanessa cardui is the most widespread of all butterfly species. It is commonly called the painted lady, or formerly in North America the cosmopolitan.

<i>Mycalesis oculus</i> Species of butterfly

Mycalesis oculus, the red-disc bushbrown, is a satyrine butterfly found in southern India. It is similar in markings to Mycalesis adolphei but distinguished by the reddish band around the large apical spots on the upper forewings.

<i>Vanessa</i> (butterfly) Genus of brush-footed butterflies in the family Nymphalidae with a near-global distribution

Vanessa is a genus of brush-footed butterflies in the tribe Nymphalini. It has a near-global distribution and includes conspicuous species such as the red admirals, the Kamehameha, and the painted ladies of the Cynthia group : Painted lady, American painted lady, West Coast lady, Australian painted lady, etc. For African admirals, see genus Antanartia. Recently, several members traditionally considered to be in the genus Antanartia have been determined to belong within the genus Vanessa.

<i>Libythea lepita</i> Species of butterfly

Libythea lepita, the common beak, is a butterfly that belongs to the Libytheinae group of the brush-footed butterflies family. It is found from southern India to Japan and its larval food plants include members of the Cannabaceae, particularly in the genera Celtis and Trema.

<i>Apatura ilia</i> Species of butterfly

Apatura ilia, the lesser purple emperor, is a species of butterfly native to most of Europe and east across the Palearctic. It is named for its similarity to the purple emperor butterfly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American lady</span> Species of butterfly

The American painted lady or American lady is a butterfly found throughout North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian painted lady</span> Species of butterfly

The Australian painted lady is a species of butterfly mostly confined to Australia, although westerly winds have dispersed it to islands east of Australia, including New Zealand. Debate surrounds the taxonomy of this species. Some believe that the Australian painted lady should be a subspecies of the painted lady due to the similarity in lifestyle and behaviour. Furthermore, the painted lady is found around the globe, but Australia is the only location in which it varies enough to be considered a separate species.

Painted ladies, in the U.S., are Victorian houses repainted in bright polychrome

<i>Morpho deidamia</i> Species of butterfly

Morpho deidamia, the Deidamia morpho, is a Neotropical butterfly. It is found in Panama, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Suriname, Bolivia, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, and Brazil. It is a species group, which may be, or may not be several species. Many subspecies have been described.

<i>Libythea celtis</i> Species of butterfly

Libythea celtis, the European beak or nettle-tree butterfly, is a butterfly of the Libytheinae group of the brush-footed butterflies family.

<i>Hippotion velox</i> Species of moth

Hippotion velox, the dark striated hawkmoth, is a species of sphingid moth or the family Sphingidae. The species was described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1793.

<i>Acraea cepheus</i> Species of butterfly

Acraea cepheus, the Cepheus acraea, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Africa, from Nigeria and Angola to Uganda, western Tanzania and Zambia.

<i>Acraea natalica</i> Species of butterfly

Acraea natalica, the Natal acraea, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae, which is native to East and southern Africa.

<i>Acraea oncaea</i> Species of butterfly

Acraea oncaea, the window acraea, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in KwaZulu-Natal, Transvaal, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, from eastern Africa to Abyssinia and in Congo.

<i>Acraea zetes</i> Species of butterfly

Acraea zetes, the large spotted acraea, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae which is native to sub-Saharan Africa.

<i>Euphaedra cyparissa</i> Species of butterfly

Euphaedra cyparissa, the true forester, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The habitat consists of drier forests and open wet forests or the edges of wet forests.

<i>Euphaedra eleus</i> Species of butterfly

Euphaedra eleus, the Eleus orange forester, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. The habitat consists of primary forests and secondary forests with a closed canopy.

<i>Vanessa carye</i> Species of butterfly

Vanessa carye, the western painted lady, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in South America, from the mountains of Colombia and west of Caracas (Venezuela) through Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, southern Brazil, and Paraguay to Patagonia in Argentina. It is also found on Easter Island and Tuamotus.

<i>Erebia rossii</i> Species of butterfly

Erebia rossii, the Arctic alpine or Ross's alpine, is a member of the subfamily Satyrinae of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Arctic North America and northern Eurasia.

References

  1. Wahlberg, Niklas; Rubinoff, Daniel (2011). "Vagility across Vanessa (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae): mobility in butterfly species does not inhibit the formation and persistence of isolated sister taxa". Systematic Entomology. 36 (2): 362–370. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3113.2010.00566.x .
  2. Savela, Markku. "Vanessa Fabricius, 1807". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved 15 December 2019.