Lycaenidae is the second-largest family of butterflies, with over 6,000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies. They constitute about 30% of the known butterfly species.
Lycaeninae, the coppers, are a subfamily of the gossamer-winged butterflies (Lycaenidae).
Miletinae is a subfamily of the family Lycaenidae of butterflies, commonly called harvesters and woolly legs, and virtually unique among butterflies in having predatory larvae. Miletinae are entirely aphytophagous. The ecology of the Miletinae is little understood, but adults and larvae live in association with ants, and most known species feed on Hemiptera, though some, like Liphyra, feed on the ants themselves. The butterflies, ants, and hemipterans, in some cases, seem to have complex symbiotic relationships benefiting all.
Arhopala is a very large genus of gossamer-winged butterflies (Lycaenidae). They are the type genus of the tribe Arhopalini. In the relatively wide circumscription used here, it contains over 200 species collectively known as oakblues. They occur from Japan throughout temperate to tropical Asia south and east of the Himalayas to Australia and the Solomon Islands of Melanesia. Like many of their relatives, their caterpillars are attended and protected by ants (myrmecophily). Sexual dichromatism is often prominent in adult oakblues.
Teriomima is a genus of butterflies in the family Lycaenidae. Teriomima is endemic to the Afrotropics.
Teriomima zuluana, the Zulu buff, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in South Africa where it is rare and localised. It can be found in coastal lowland forests in northern KwaZulu-Natal from False Bay north to Kosi Bay and inland to the Makathini Flats and the Tembe Elephant Park.
Hamilton Herbert Charles James Druce was an English entomologist who specialised in Lycaenidae and to a lesser extent Hesperiidae. He is not to be confused with his father, the English entomologist Herbert Druce (1846–1913) who also worked on Lepidoptera.
Aphnaeus erikssoni, the Eriksson's highflier, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Angola, Namibia, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. The habitat consists of savanna and open woodland.
Lepidochrysops pterou is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya. The habitat consists of rocky hillsides and the tops of low rocky outcrops with sparse grass and lamiates and stunted vegetation. Subspecies suk is found on rocky hills and in sparse grass-lamiate areas in savanna under thorn trees and Combretum species.
Anthene crawshayi, Crawshay's hairtail or Crawshay's ciliate blue, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Senegal, the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. The habitat consists of savanna and open forests.
Hewitsonia kirbyi, the Kirby's tiger blue, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia. The habitat consists of forests.
Alaena picata is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Kenya, Tanzania and Malawi. The habitat consists of rocky stream beds in forests and forest margins at altitudes ranging from 300 to 1,500 metres.
Mimacraea marshalli, Marshall's acraea mimic, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The habitat consists of Brachystegia woodland in hilly country at altitudes ranging from 1,200 to 1,700 metres, as well as open woodland.
Mimeresia dinora, the red harlequin, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Nigeria, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. The habitat consists of dense forests.
Teriomima subpunctata, the white buff, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found along the coast of Kenya and in Tanzania. The habitat consists of coastal and lowland forests at altitudes ranging from sea level to 1,200 metres.
Teriomima puellaris, the two-dotted buff, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in eastern Zimbabwe, western Mozambique, southern Malawi and southern Tanzania. The habitat consists of forests.
Teriomima williami, the Dondo buff, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Mozambique. The habitat consists of coastal forests.
Teriomima micra, the minute buff, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found along the coast of Kenya and in Tanzania. The habitat consists of coastal forests.
Teriomima parva, the poor buff, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Kenya, Tanzania and possibly Mozambique. The habitat consists of coastal and submontane forests.
Baliochila barnesi, the Barnes's buff, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in eastern Zimbabwe, western Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The species was formally described as new to science in 1953 by Henri Stempffer and Neville Henry Bennett.
