Lucia (butterfly)

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Lucia is a butterfly genus in the family Lycaenidae. It is monotypic, containing only the species Lucia limbaria, the small copper, of Australia. [1]

Lucia limbaria is commonly known as the Chequered Copper, Grassland Copper or Small Copper. The tiny, endemic though rarely seen butterfly, has been found in sporadic locations, in south eastern South Australia, south western Victoria and as far north as central Queensland[2]. A member of the LYCAENIDAE family, blues and coppers, most of which have some sort of relationship with ants, Lucia limbaria is very dependent on the small black ants, Iridomyrmex rufoniger.

It's host plant Oxalis perennans, is a native sorrel or Creeping Yellow Oxalis and possibly Oxalis corniculata ssp corniculata or Yellow Wood-sorrel.[3]

Lucia
Lucia limbaria (ento-csiro-au).jpg
Lucia limbaria
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Lycaenidae
Tribe: Luciini
Genus: Lucia
Swainson, 1833
Species:
L. limbaria
Binomial name
Lucia limbaria
(Swainson, 1833)


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References

  1. "Lucia Swainson, 1833" at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms

2. ^ iNaturalist, Lucia limbaria Observations map 3. ^ South Australian Butterflies and Moths (by Roger Grund, website managed by Butterfly Conservation SA) https://www.sabutterflies.org.au/lyca/limbaria.html