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.
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.
Polygonia is a genus of butterflies with a conspicuous white mark on the underside of each hindwing, hence the common name comma. They also have conspicuous angular notches on the outer edges of their forewings, hence the other common name anglewing butterflies. The related genus Nymphalis also includes some anglewing species; Polygonia is sometimes classified as a subgenus of Nymphalis.
Nymphalini is a tribe of nymphalid brush-footed butterflies. Common names include admirals, anglewings, commas, and tortoiseshells, but none of these is specific to one particular genus.
The butterfly subtribe Euptychiina is a diverse group within the tribe Satyrini, occurring throughout Central and South America, in addition to a few species known from North America. Euptychiina is a predominantly lowland group, with the exception of one Asian taxon Palaeonympha opalinaButler, 1871 and the Andean genus ForsterinariaGray, 1973. The taxon was erected by Lee Denmar Miller.
"Catagramma" is a genus of Neotropical butterflies; the name has a problematic history of differing usage, which especially continues to be used in a broader sense than any modern technical definitions e.g. among butterfly collectors as a form taxon. In that latter broad sense, the various "Catagramma" are popularly known as 88s in reference to patterning on the hindwing undersides which can resemble the number 88. They are medium-sized forest dwellers.
Polygonia egea, the southern comma, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in southern Europe.
Nymphalis vaualbum or N. l-album, the Compton tortoiseshell, or false comma, is a species of butterfly in the family Nymphalidae.
Polygonia faunus, the green comma, Faunus comma, or Faunus anglewing is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae.
Prodryas persephone is an extinct species of brush-footed butterfly, known from a single specimen from the Chadronian-aged Florissant Shale Lagerstätte of Late Eocene Colorado. P. persephone is the first fossil butterfly to be found in North America, and is exquisitely well preserved. Its closest extant relatives are the mapwings and African admirals of the genera Hypanartia and Antanartia, respectively.
Hermeuptychia is a genus of satyrid butterflies found in the Neotropical realm. They are a widespread, cryptic genus, with Cytochrome c oxidase subunit I species delineation methods implying much greater species diversity than currently recognised.
Taygetis is a genus of satyrid butterflies found in the Neotropical realm.
Magneuptychia is a genus of satyrid butterflies found in the Neotropical realm.
Dynamine is a genus of nymphalid butterflies found in South America.
Hypanartia lethe, the orange admiral or orange mapwing, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae.
Polygonia gigantea, the giant comma, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in western and central China.
Polygonia undina is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae first described by Grigory Grum-Grshimailo in 1890. It is found from Ghissar-Darvaz to the Pamirs-Alai and Tian-Shan in north-western China and the Himalayas.
Polygonia interposita is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found from Ghissar to the Altai Mountains, north-western China, the Himalayas and Mongolia. The habitat consists of gorges and slopes up to 2,500 meters above sea level.
Amiga is a monotypic butterfly genus in the family Nymphalidae erected by Shinichi Nakahara, Keith R. Willmott and Marianne Espeland in 2019. Amiga arnaca, formerly of the genus Chloreuptychia, is the only species in the genus Amiga. In 2019, Nakahara et al. described this new genus after molecular phylogenetic research showed it was not closely related to the other species of Chloreuptychia.
