''Madeleinea'' is a
butterfly
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 ...
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
in the
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Lycaenidae
Lycaenidae is the second-largest family (biology), family of butterflies (behind Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflies), with over 6,000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies. They constitute about 30% of ...
. These
Andean butterflies are very interesting from a
taxonomic standpoint.
This genus was discussed by famous author and
lepidopterologist Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov ( ; 2 July 1977), also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin (), was a Russian and American novelist, poet, translator, and entomologist. Born in Imperial Russia in 1899, Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Rus ...
in 1945. However, he used the name ''Itylos'', which actually refers to
a closely related but distinct genus described in 1921. That was not known in his time however, as the relationships of the butterflies discussed by Nabokov were only resolved in 1993. In any case, ''Nivalis'' was proposed as a replacement name by Emilio Balletto but for technical reasons turned out to be unavailable. Zsolt Bálint subsequently established the currently-valid name.
The latter researcher, in cooperation with
Kurt Johnson, since then described many
taxa
In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...
new to science. To honor the contributions of Nabokov to
entomology
Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...
- chiefly concerning Lycaenidae -, these were often given names referring to the
novel
A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...
s of Nabokov, or characters therein.
Selected species
At least one but probably more undescribed species are known to exist.
* ''
Madeleinea ardisensis''
Bálint & Lamas, 1996 – named after Ardis Hall, a place in ''
Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle''.
* ''
Madeleinea bella''
Bálint & Lamas, 1996
* ''
Madeleinea cobaltana''
Bálint & Lamas, 1994 – named after Kobalt, a mountain resort in ''
Pale Fire
''Pale Fire'' is a 1962 novel by Vladimir Nabokov. The novel is presented as a 999-line poem titled "Pale Fire", written by the fictional poet John Shade, with a foreword, lengthy commentary and index written by Shade's neighbor and academic co ...
''
* ''
Madeleinea colca''
Bálint & Lamas, 1996
* ''
Madeleinea gradoslamasi''
Bálint & Johnson, 1997
* ''
Madeleinea huascarana''
Bálint & Lamas, 1994
* ''
Madeleinea koa''
(Druce, 1896)
* ''
Madeleinea lea''
Benyamini, Bálint & Johnson, 1995
* ''
Madeleinea lolita''
Bálint, 1993 – named after Dolores Haze, nicknamed "
Lolita", and the protagonist of the novel by the same title.
* ''
Madeleinea ludicra''
(Weymer, 1890)
* ''
Madeleinea malvasa''
Bálint & Pyrcz, 000/small>
* '' Madeleinea moza'' (Staudinger, 894
* '' Madeleinea nodo'' Bálint & Johnson, 1995 – named after Nodo, half-brother of Odon in ''Pale Fire''.
* '' Madeleinea odon''Pale Fire
''Pale Fire'' is a 1962 novel by Vladimir Nabokov. The novel is presented as a 999-line poem titled "Pale Fire", written by the fictional poet John Shade, with a foreword, lengthy commentary and index written by Shade's neighbor and academic co ...
''
* '' Madeleinea vokoban'' Bálint & Johnson, 1995 – the specific name is "Nabokov" read backwards
References
* (1945): Notes on neotropical Plebejinae (Lycaenidae, Lepidoptera). ''
Psyche'' 52: 1–61
PDF fulltext* (1996): ''A Guide to Nabokov’s Butterflies and Moths''. Hamburg, Germany
External links
''Madeleinea''. Version of 2007-JUL-11. Retrieved 2007-DEC-30.
Photoof male ''Madeleinea ardisensis''
Another photoof male ''Madeleinea ardisensis'', showing underside
Photoof female ''Madeleinea cobaltana''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q6726966
Polyommatini
Lycaenidae of South America
Lycaenidae genera