Family: Lycaenidae (blues, coppers and hairtails)

Life > Eukaryotes > Opisthokonta > Metazoa (animals) > Bilateria > Ecdysozoa > Panarthropoda > Tritocerebra > Phylum: Arthopoda > Mandibulata > Atelocerata > Panhexapoda > Hexapoda > Insecta (insects) > Dicondyla > Pterygota > Metapterygota > Neoptera > Eumetabola > Holometabola > Panorpida > Amphiesmenoptera > Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) > Glossata > Coelolepida > Myoglossata > Neolepidoptera > Heteroneura > Ditrysia > Apoditrysia > Obtectomera > Macrolepidoptera > Rhopalocera (butterflies) > Papilionoidea > Family: Nymphalidae

 Butterflies that need ants

While not all the Lycaenidae butterflies need ants, certain members of this family can only complete their life cycle in association with particular ant species. This is termed a myrmecophilous (love of ants) relationship.

Aloeides sp. Photo by HG Robertson.

Orange-banded Protea-butterfly Capys alphaeus. An old South African Museum specimen collected from Kalk Bay in January 1905). Larvae feed in young protea heads. Photo by HG Robertson.

Many members of the Lycaenidae are commonly referred to as the coppers and blues because these are the predominant colours in the family. The Lycaenidae includes a number of species that are listed as rare or vulnerable in the South African Red Data book on butterflies. Some of the reasons these species are threatened are:

• they are associated with the unique fynbos plant kingdom that is under threat due to human pressure resulting in wide scale habitat destruction
• some are associated, either directly or indirectly, with indigenous ants that are also threatened because of the alien Argentine ant that is replacing them.

Many species of this family have a fascinating association with ant species, each butterfly species usually associated with a single ant species. The extent of the association varies. In some cases the ant cares for the butterfly larva by guiding it up to its host plant to feed during the day and then back underground for protection at night (much like we keep cows) and the benefit for the ant is that the larva has a special honey gland that secretes a sweet substance that the ants enjoy. In other cases pheromones secreted by the larvae fool the ant into believing that the caterpillar is part of the ant brood, allowing the caterpillar to feed on them.

Adaptions for ant association

Ants are normally predators of caterpillars but predation can be overcome by defensive mechanisms that will either deter the ants, or attract them by the secretion of compounds that are so attractive to ants that they will protect the caterpillar instead.

Myrmecophilous caterpillars have developed adaptions for ant association:

• dorsal nectary organ (honey gland) that secretes sugars and amino acids upon solicitation by the ant.
• tentacle organs that produce chemical signals that modify the ant behaviour.
• perforated cupola organs, like minute pits, scattered over the caterpillar epidermis that are thought to secrete appeasment substances.
• the lycaenid larva cuticle is much thicker than other lepidopterous larvae that further protects it from ants.
• lycaenid larvae do not perform the jerky lateral movements typical of other lepidopteran larvae that release aggressive behaviour in ants.
• a certain group of larvae have vibratory papillae, two mobile, chitinised rods, that produce sounds that appear to attract ants.

Different lycaenid groups

• Phytophagous. Those that feed only on plants with no ant association (for example Durbania).
• Myrmecophilous (facultative). These are found associated with ants on the foodplant but can be bred successfully without ants (for example Myrina silenus ficedula attended by Camponotus ants). Honeygland and tubercles are present from the second instar.
• Myrmecophilous (obligative). These species, although entirely herbivorous, require ant presence to complete their life cycle (for example Poecilmitis lycegenes now placed in the genus Chrysoritis). The female butterfly will only lay eggs on vegetation where there are Crematogaster ants or on the ants' pheromone trails between plant and ant nest. The ants pick up the newly emerged larvae and transport them to the host plants. The older larvae shelter under nearby rocks and stones, always attended by ants, and find their way back to the plants by following the ant pheromone trail. Ants feed on copious secretions of liquid from the honeyglands and should ants not feed regularly, the larvae develop and die from, fungal infections of the honeygland.
• Phyto-predaceous. (for example Lepidochrysops spp.). The first two instars feed only on plants and then they are transported by the ants (Camponotus spp.) to the nest where they feed on the ant brood. The ants tend and treat them as ant brood as the larvae produces a pheromone from the epidermal glands that mimics the ants' brood pheromone. The larva pupates in the underground nest tunnels and when the adult butterfly emerges, it moves to the exit where its wings are expanded.
• Predaceous. Some (for example Spalgis), feed exclusively on Homoptera (plant hopper bugs) and are either totally ignored or attacked by ants attending the Homoptera. Some feed on Homoptera and ant brood but usually attended by ants (for example Lachnocema bibulus). Some feed exclusively on ant brood in the nest (for example Thestor dicksoni dicksoni, tended by the ant Anoplolepis custodiens))
• Secretion feeders. Some live in ant nests and are fed by the ants with regurgitated food (for example Euliphyra tended by Oecophylla ants) and the ant brood is not eaten. Some feed only on Homoptera secretions and others feed on both ant and Homoptera secretions.

   

  Azanus sp. taking moisure from wet dung. Photo by VB Whitehead.	Aloeides sp. Photo by S van Noort.
  Cacyreus marshalli. Photo by S van Noort.	Anthene definata. Photo by S van Noort.

Ethics and collecting

The collection of butterflies and moths is a necessary exercise to establish baseline information on the taxonomy and distribution of these insects. This is a prerequisite enabling informed conservation management decisions to preserve the future integrity of butterfly and moth populations and to ensure the survival of the species. Habitat destruction is by far the main threat to butterfly populations, with both urban development and rural agriculture having an impact. Orachrysops niobe, the Brenton Blue, being a classic example of a species nearly "lost" due to urban development.  Over-collecting, however, may have an impact on populations, particularly in the case of rare and threatened species with restricted distributions. It is essential that collectors comply with conservation ethics and conduct themselves responsibly in this regard. Collectors are encouraged to rear species and to record their observations, thereby playing a valuable role in the documentation of life histories and food plants, which are unknown for the majority of our butterflies and moths. A Practical Guide to Butterflies and Moths in Southern Africa edited by Steve Woodhall and published by the Lepidopterists’ Society of Southern Africa in 1992 is an excellent source of information, covering topics from collecting and rearing to conservation of Lepidoptera. 

Anyone who is interested in the collection of butterflies and moths should contact the Lepidopterists’ Society of Africa, whose aims are to promote the scientific study and conservation of Lepidoptera in Africa, and to provide a communication forum for everyone interested in African Lepidoptera, with no geographical limit to membership. The official journal of the Society, Metamorphosis, publishes original scientific papers as well as articles of a more popular nature. Interested persons can contact The Hon. Secretary, Alan Heath, 209 Ringwood Drive, Pinelands 7405, South Africa (e-mail: aheath@mweb.co.za).

Lycaenid species featured

• Orachrysops niobe (Brenton Blue)
• Orachrysops ariadne (Karkloof Blue)

Bibliography

• Claassens, A. J. M. and Dickson, C. G. C. 1980. The Butterflies of the Table Mountain Range. Struik, Cape Town.

• Clark, G. C. and Dickson, C. G. C. Dickson. 1971. Life Histories of the South African Lycaenid Butterflies. Purnell, Cape Town.

• Pennington, K. M. (Editors Dickson, C. G. C. and Kroon, D. M.). 1978. Pennington's Butterflies. Donker, Johannesburg.

 Page compiled  by M. Cochrane and S. van Noort