Melitaeini are a group of brush-footed

butterflies Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises t ...

. 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 usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confl ...

of the

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

, they are sometimes raised to subfamily status as Melitaeinae. Common names include the highly ambiguous

fritillaries ''Fritillaria'' (fritillaries) is a genus of spring flowering herbaceous bulbous perennial plants in the lily family (Liliaceae). The type species, ''Fritillaria meleagris'', was first described in Europe in 1571, while other species from the ...

(also used for some Heliconiinae), checkerspots, crescents, or crescentspots, and some genus-specific names. Crimson Patch 6

Genera

The 20–25

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial ...

of Melitaeini are divided among five subtribes; some species are also listed. The subtribes, in the presumed phylogenetic sequence, are:See references in Savela (2010)

Subtribe Euphydryina * '' Euphydryas'' – fritillaries, checkerspots Subtribe Melitaeina * '' Melitaea'' – fritillaries (including ''Didymaeformis'', ''Mellicta'') Subtribe Chlosynina * '' Antillea'' Higgins, 959/small> * '' Atlantea'' Higgins, 959/small> * '' Chlosyne'' – checkerspots, patches * ''

Dymasia ''Dymasia'' is a monotypic genus of butterflies in the family Nymphalidae. Its single species is the tiny checkerspot (''Dymasia dymas''), also known as the dyman checkerspot, which is found from the southern United States to Central America. G ...

'' Higgins, 1960 * '' Higginsius'' Hemming, 1964 (tentatively placed here; Gnathotrichina?) * '' Microtia'' Bates, 1864 * '' Poladryas'' Bauer, 1975 * '' Texola'' Higgins, 1959 – checkerspots ** ''

Texola elada ''Texola elada'', the Elada checkerspot, is a species of butterfly in the brush-footed butterfly family, Nymphalidae. It is found from southern Mexico north to central Texas and central Arizona in the United States. The wingspan is . Adults ar ...

'' – Elada checkerspot Subtribe Gnathotrichina * '' Gnathotriche'' C. & R. Felder, 1862 Subtribe Phyciodina * ''

Anthanassa ''Anthanassa'' is a genus of North and South American butterflies of the family Nymphalidae found from the United States to South America. One authority places this genus as a subgenus of '' Phyciodes''.Glassberg, J. (2007). ''A Swift Guide to ...

'' 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 in South Amer ...

'' – 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'' Higgins, 1981 * '' Eresia'' Boisduval, 1836 * '' Janatella'' Higgins, 1981 * '' Mazia'' 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