''Paralucia'' is a genus of
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 ...
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
and belonging to the family
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 ...
. The caterpillars feed on ''
Bursaria
''Bursaria'' is a genus of eight species of flowering plants in the family Pittosporaceae and is endemic to Australia. They are shrubs or slender trees, often with spiny branches and have Leaf#Divisions of the blade, simple leaves, relatively s ...
'' and sometimes ''
Pittosporum
''Pittosporum'' ( or The first pronunciation is that expected for traditional English pronunciation of Latin, Anglo-Latin; the second is common in nurseries. ''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607) is a genus of about 250 species of flow ...
'' species and co-habit with ants of the genera ''
Anonychomyrma'' and ''
Notoncus''.
Species
The genus includes the following three species:
* Bright copper, ''
Paralucia aurifera''
* Fiery copper, ''
Paralucia pyrodiscus''
* Bathurst copper, ''
Paralucia spinifera''
References
External links
List of host plants for ''Graphium macleayanus'' Australian Biological Resources Study.
Luciini
Lycaenidae genera
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
Taxa named by Gustavus Athol Waterhouse
{{Theclinae-stub