Melitaeini are a group of brush-footed

butterflies Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

. Usually classified as a

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

of the

Nymphalinae The Nymphalinae are a subfamily of brush-footed butterflies (family (biology), family Nymphalidae). Sometimes, the subfamilies Limenitidinae, and Biblidinae are included here as subordinate tribe (biology), tribe(s), while the tribe Melitaeini is ...

, they are sometimes raised to

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

status as Melitaeinae. Common names include the highly ambiguous

fritillaries Fritillary may refer to: * Fritillary (plant), a genus of flowering plants in the family Liliaceae * Fritillary (butterfly), the name of various species in several different genera of nymphalid butterflies See also

* {{disambiguation ...

(also used for some

Heliconiinae The Heliconiinae, commonly called heliconians or longwings, are a subfamily of the brush-footed butterflies (family (biology), family Nymphalidae). They can be divided into 45–50 genera and were sometimes treated as a separate family Heliconi ...

), checkerspots, crescents, or crescentspots, and some genus-specific names. Crimson Patch 6

Genera

The 20–25

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

of Melitaeini are divided among five

subtribe Subtribe is a taxonomic category ranking which is below the rank of tribe and above genus. The standard suffix for a subtribe is -ina (in animals) or -inae (in plants). The first use of this word dates back to the late 19th century. An example of ...

s; some species are also listed. The subtribes, in the presumed phylogenetic sequence, are:See references in Savela (2010)

Subtribe Euphydryina * ''

Euphydryas ''Euphydryas'' is a genus of Nymphalidae butterflies. Species References Further reading * Glassberg, Jeffrey ''Butterflies through Binoculars: The West'' (2001) * Guppy, Crispin S. and Shepard, Jon H. ''Butterflies of British Columbia'' ( ...

'' – fritillaries, checkerspots Subtribe Melitaeina * ''

Melitaea ''Melitaea'' is a genus of brush-footed butterflies (family (biology), family Nymphalidae). They are here placed in the tribe (biology), tribe Melitaeini of subfamily Nymphalinae; some authors elevate this tribe to subfamily rank. As delimited ...

'' – fritillaries (including ''Didymaeformis'', ''Mellicta'') Subtribe Chlosynina * '' Antillea'' Higgins,

959 Year 959 ( CMLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * April - May – The Byzantines refuse to pay the yearly tribute. A Hungarian army, led by Apor, invades Mace ...

/small> * '' Atlantea'' Higgins,

/small> * ''

Chlosyne ''Chlosyne'' is a genus of butterflies from North and South America in the family Nymphalidae. Species Listed alphabetically within groups: Glassberg, J. (2007) ''A Swift Guide to the Butterflies of Mexico and Central America'', Sunstreak Books ...

'' – checkerspots, patches * '' Dymasia'' Higgins, 1960 * ''

Higginsius ''Higginsius'' is a genus of butterflies from north-eastern South America in the family Nymphalidae The Nymphalidae are the largest family of butterflies, with more than 6,000 species distributed throughout most of the world. Belongin ...

'' Hemming, 1964 (tentatively placed here; Gnathotrichina?) * ''

Microtia Microtia is a congenital deformity where the auricle (external ear) is underdeveloped. A completely undeveloped auricle is referred to as anotia. Because microtia and anotia have the same origin, it can be referred to as microtia-anotia. Micro ...

'' Bates, 1864 * '' Poladryas'' Bauer, 1975 * '' Texola'' Higgins, 1959 – checkerspots ** '' Texola elada'' – Elada checkerspot Subtribe Gnathotrichina * ''

Gnathotriche ''Gnathotriche'' is a genus of butterflies in the family Nymphalidae found in South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in th ...

'' C. & R. Felder, 1862 Subtribe Phyciodina * '' Anthanassa'' Scudder, 1875 – crescents, crescentspots ** ''

Anthanassa ardys ''Anthanassa ardys'', the Ardys crescent, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found from southern Mexico, through Central America to Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in So ...

'' – Ardys crescent ** ''

Anthanassa frisia ''Anthanassa frisia'', the Cuban crescentspot, Cuban checkerspot or Cuban crescent, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. Subspecies ''tulcis'' is known by the common names pale-banded crescent or Tulcis crescent; it is treated as a species b ...

'' – Cuban crescent, Cuban crescentspot * '' Castilia'' Higgins, 1981 * ''

Dagon Dagon or Dagan (; ) was a god worshipped in ancient Syria, across the middle of the Euphrates, with primary temples located in Tuttul and Terqa, though many attestations of his cult come from cities such as Mari and Emar as well. In settl ...

'' Higgins, 1981 * '' Eresia'' Boisduval, 1836 * ''

Janatella ''Janatella'' is a genus of butterflies which range from Central to South America in the family Nymphalidae. The species Janatella has trapezoidal wings that allow them to fly easily and fast. The flying performance of butterflies enabled the re ...

'' Higgins, 1981 * ''

Mazia ''Mazia'' is a monotypic genus of butterflies in the family Nymphalidae that contains the species ''Mazia amazonica'' found in South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemi ...

'' Higgins, 1981 * '' Ortilia'' Higgins, 1981 * '' Phyciodes'' – crescents, crescentspots * '' Phystis'' Higgins, 1981 * '' Tegosa'' Higgins, 1981 ** '' Tegosa anieta'' * '' Telenassa'' Higgins, 1981 * '' Tisona'' Higgins, 1981

Footnotes

References

* Savela, Markku (2010): ''Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms'' &ndash
Melitaeini
Version of 30 June 2010. Retrieved 10 February 2011. Nymphalinae Butterfly tribes {{Nymphalinae-stub