''Paralucia'' is a genus of
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 ...
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found els ...
to
Australia and belonging to the family
Lycaenidae
Lycaenidae is the second-largest 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 known butterfly ...
. The caterpillars feed on ''
Bursaria'' and sometimes ''
Pittosporum
''Pittosporum'' ( or ) is a genus of about 200 species of flowering plants in the family Pittosporaceae. The genus is probably Gondwanan in origin; its present range extends from Australasia, Oceania, eastern Asia and some parts of Africa. '' ...
'' 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
{{Theclinae-stub