Leptotes cassius: Difference between revisions
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'''''Leptotes cassius''''', the '''Cassius blue''' or '''tropical striped blue''', is a [[butterfly]] of the family [[Lycaenidae]]. It is found in North America in [[Florida]] including the [[Florida Keys|Keys]], [[Texas]] south through the [[Caribbean]], [[Mexico]], and [[Central America]] to [[South America]]. Strays can be found in [[New Mexico]], [[Kansas]], [[Missouri]] |
'''''Leptotes cassius''''', the '''Cassius blue''' or '''tropical striped blue''', is a [[butterfly]] of the family [[Lycaenidae]]. It is found in North America in [[Florida]] including the [[Florida Keys|Keys]], [[Texas]] south through the [[Caribbean]], [[Mexico]], and [[Central America]] to [[South America]]. Strays can be found in [[New Mexico]], [[Kansas]], [[Missouri]], [[South Carolina]], North Carolina and Virginia<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dpr.ncparks.gov/nbnc/a/accounts.php?acctID=45|title=North Carolina Butterfly Website|website=www.dpr.ncparks.gov|access-date=2018-02-25}}</ref>. |
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The [[wingspan]] is 20–35 mm. |
The [[wingspan]] is 20–35 mm. |
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Revision as of 16:55, 25 February 2018
| Leptotes cassius | |
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_male.JPG)
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| Male L. c. theonus, Jamaica | |
_underside.JPG)
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| L. c. theonus, Cuba | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Lycaenidae |
| Genus: | Leptotes |
| Species: | L. cassius
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| Binomial name | |
| Leptotes cassius (Cramer, 1775)
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| Synonyms | |
Leptotes cassius, the Cassius blue or tropical striped blue, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in North America in Florida including the Keys, Texas south through the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America to South America. Strays can be found in New Mexico, Kansas, Missouri, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia[1].
The wingspan is 20–35 mm.
The butterfly species has an important role in Marisha Pessl's 2006 novel Special Topics in Calamity Physics. The protagonist, Blue van Meer, is named in honor of the Cassius blue.
The caterpillars feed natively on Fabaceae. Food plants on record are Amorpha crenulata, woolly rattlepod (Crotalaria incana), Galactia regularis and lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus). It can also successfully develop feeding on Cape leadwort (Plumbago auriculata) or doctorbush (P. scandens), which (among the eudicots) are not closely related to its usual food plants.[2]
Subspecies
- L. c. cassius – Suriname
- L. c. catilina
- L. c. theonus (Lucas, 1857) – Florida, Cuba, Bahamas, Greater Antilles
- L. c. cassidula (Boisduval, 1870)[3] – Texas, Mexico, Honduras
- L. c. cassioides – Windward Islands, including Dominica and Trinidad & Tobago
- L. c. striata
L. c. theonus (and consequently L. cassius itself) is the type species of the genus Leptotes.
References
- ^ "North Carolina Butterfly Website". www.dpr.ncparks.gov. Retrieved 2018-02-25.
- ^ Hall, Donald W.; Jerry F. Butler. "Cassius blue, tropical striped blue Leptotes cassius (Cramer) (Instecta: Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae: Polyommatinae)". Electronic Digital Information Source. University of Florida IFAS Extension. Retrieved 2011-02-21.
- ^ "Leptotes cassius". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2011-02-21.
External links
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