FAMILY LYCAENIDAE

The Lycaenidae are the second-largest family of butterflies, with about 6000 species worldwide, whose members
are also called gossamer-winged butterflies. They constitute about 40% of the known butterfly species.
The family is traditionally divided into the subfamilies of the blues (Polyommatinae), the coppers (Lycaeninae),
the hairstreaks (Theclinae) and the harvesters (Miletinae); others include also the Lipteninae, Liphyrinae and Poritiinae.
A few authorities still include the family Riodinidae within the Lycaenidae.
Adults are small, under 5 cm usually, and brightly coloured, sometimes with a metallic gloss.
The male's forelegs are reduced in size and lack claws. Adult individuals often have hairy antenna-like tails
complete with black and white annulated appearance. Many species also have a spot at the base of the tail and some
turn around upon landing to confuse potential predators from recognizing the true head orientation. This causes
predators to approach from the true head end resulting in early visual detection.

The text above is from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and is licensed under the GFDL.

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