Conservation Biology of Lycaenidae (Butterflies) - IUCN
Conservation Biology of Lycaenidae (Butterflies) - IUCN
Conservation Biology of Lycaenidae (Butterflies) - IUCN
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
PART 1. INTRODUCTION<br />
Introduction to the biology and conservation <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Lycaenidae</strong><br />
Introduction<br />
T.R. NEW<br />
Department <strong>of</strong> Zoology, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria 3083, Australia<br />
The <strong>Lycaenidae</strong>, the 'blues', 'coppers', 'hairstreaks','metalmarks'<br />
and related butterflies, are the most diverse family <strong>of</strong><br />
Papilionoidea and comprise between 30 and 40% <strong>of</strong> all butterfly<br />
species. They are mostly rather small. The world's smallest<br />
butterfly may be the lycaenid Micropsyche ariana Mattoni<br />
from Afghanistan with a wingspan <strong>of</strong> only about 7mm (although<br />
some individuals <strong>of</strong> Brephidium exilis (Boisduval) can have as<br />
small a wingspan as 6mm). A few <strong>Lycaenidae</strong> are relatively<br />
large: Liphyra brassolis Westwood has a wingspan <strong>of</strong> 8–9cm,<br />
and is the largest known species. The family occurs in all<br />
major biogeographical regions in temperate and tropical zones.<br />
As with other Lepidoptera, the life cycle comprises egg,<br />
larva (caterpillar) passing through several instars, pupa and<br />
adult, with the cycle occupying several weeks to a year.<br />
Particularly in temperate regions, there may be a well-defined<br />
phenological break during winter which is passed in an inactive<br />
stage. The early stages <strong>of</strong> many taxa have been described, and<br />
a consideration <strong>of</strong> lycaenid conservation biology must include<br />
the biology <strong>of</strong> all <strong>of</strong> these life forms, from oviposition site<br />
selection by reproductive females to larval life and adult biology.<br />
In general, far more distributional and biological information is<br />
available on adults, which tend to be conspicuous and actively<br />
sought by collectors and photographers, than on the relatively<br />
inconspicuous and cryptic immature stages.<br />
Many species have very precise environmental requirements,<br />
but the family occurs in many major biomes and vegetation<br />
associations from climax forests to scrublands, grasslands,<br />
wetlands and semi-arid desert communities, many <strong>of</strong> which<br />
could be viewed as early seres in terrestrial successions. Some<br />
lycaenids have considerable potential for use as indicator species<br />
as their incidence and abundance reflects rather small degrees<br />
<strong>of</strong> habitat change.<br />
The larvae <strong>of</strong> some taxa feed on flowerbuds, flowers and<br />
fruits (Downey 1962), and thus may exert stronger selective<br />
pressures on their foodplants than many foliage feeders<br />
(Breedlove and Ehrlich 1968). Collectively, a very broad range<br />
<strong>of</strong> foods are utilised and many lycaenids have departed from the<br />
normal lepidopteran dependence on angiosperm plants to feed<br />
1<br />
on lower plants or animal material. The extent <strong>of</strong> aphytophagy,<br />
which includes predacious and mutualistic relationships with<br />
ants and various Homoptera, is sometimes both pronounced<br />
and obligatory (Cottrell 1984), so that lycaenids, as a group,<br />
participate in a wider range <strong>of</strong> ecological interactions than<br />
perhaps any other Lepidoptera.<br />
This ecological breadth has been the basis for designation <strong>of</strong><br />
'biological groups' in the family (Hinton 1951; Henning 1983).<br />
Together with the relatively comprehensive knowledge <strong>of</strong> the<br />
systematics and distribution <strong>of</strong> many temperate region taxa<br />
through longterm collector accumulation, this ecological breadth<br />
renders the family <strong>of</strong> very considerable value in conservation<br />
studies. Several species have been the targets <strong>of</strong> detailed practical<br />
measures related to their conservation in recent years, and many<br />
<strong>of</strong> these case histories are summarised in the third section <strong>of</strong> this<br />
volume.<br />
This introductory chapter enlarges on some <strong>of</strong> the topics<br />
noted above, to provide a general background to the regional<br />
and species accounts which follow.<br />
Taxonomy<br />
In this volume the <strong>Lycaenidae</strong> is taken to include the Riodininae<br />
(= Nemeobiinae) and the Styginae, both <strong>of</strong> which have been<br />
given family status by some researchers.<br />
Early classifications grouped the Riodinidae and <strong>Lycaenidae</strong><br />
s. rest, as the superfamily Lycaenoidea. Clench (1955) divided<br />
the Lycaenoidea into three families: <strong>Lycaenidae</strong> s. str., Liptenidae<br />
and Liphyridae, to which Shirozu and Yamamato (1957) added<br />
the Curetidae. In contrast, Ehrlich (1958) considered the<br />
Lycaenoidea to be a single family with the major subfamiliar<br />
groupings <strong>of</strong> Riodininae, Styginae and Lycaeninae – the latter<br />
including the four families noted in the last sentence.<br />
While the higher classification <strong>of</strong> the two 'problem' groups<br />
has proved to be controversial, the scheme proposed by Eliot<br />
(1973) (Figure la) has, with some modification, received<br />
strong support. As Eliot (1973) noted, no satisfactory<br />
classification for the whole <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Lycaenidae</strong> had been produced<br />
until then, despite notable attempts by Clench (1955) and