''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 ...

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 ''Anonychomyrma'' is a genus of ants in the subfamily Dolichoderinae. Distribution and habitat The genus is mainly distributed in New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Australia; a single species is known from Malaysia and Indonesia. They nest on the ...

'' and ''

Notoncus ''Notoncus'' is an Australian genus of ants in the subfamily Formicinae. The genus is known from Australia (one species is also known from Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island ...

''.

Species

The genus includes the following three species: * Bright copper, ''

Paralucia aurifera The bright copper (''Paralucia aurifer'') is a butterfly belonging to the family Lycaenidae. Taxonomy The bright copper was first described by Émile Blanchard in 1848. Description The adult bright copper has a wingspan of . The flight season ...

'' * Fiery copper, ''

Paralucia pyrodiscus The fiery copper or dull copper (''Paralucia pyrodiscus'') is an endemic Australian butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. One of the two subspecies, ''P. p. lucida'', is commonly known as the Eltham copper. The larvae feed on ''Bursaria spinosa'' ...

'' * Bathurst copper, ''

Paralucia spinifera ''Paralucia spinifera'', commonly known as the Bathurst copper or purple copper, is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is endemic to Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprisin ...

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