Melinaea
Andrew V. Z. Brower
- Melinaea ethra
- Melinaea idae
- Melinaea isocomma
- Melinaea lilis
- Melinaea ludovica
- Melinaea marsaeus
- Melinaea menophilus
- Melinaea mnasias
- Melinaea mneme
- Melinaea mnemopsis
- Melinaea satevis
Introduction
The genus Melinaea contains some of the largest ithomiines. The species are difficult to separate from one another due to intraspecific polymoprhism and interpsecific Müllerian mimicry. The color patterns are also shared by members of the silvaniorm Heliconius, with which Melinaea specimens are often intermingled in collections. They can easily be distingished by the size of their heads -- Melinaea spp. have small heads, and Heliconius spp. have large heads and eyes. The shape of the hindwing discal cell is also very different between the two taxa.
References
Brown KS, Jr. 1977. Geographical patterns of evolution in Neotropical Lepidoptera: differentiation of the species of Melinaea and Mechanitis (Nymphalidae, Ithomiinae). Syst. Ent. 2: 161-197.
Fox RM. 1960. A monograph of the Ithomiidae (Lepidoptera). Part II. The tribe Melinaeini Clark. Trans. Amer. Entomol. Soc, 86: 109-171.
Lamas G ed. 2004. Atlas of Neotropical Lepidoptera. Checklist: Part 4A Hesperioidea - Papiionoidea. Gainesville: Scientific Publishers/Association of Tropical Lepidoptera.
Title Illustrations
| Scientific Name | Melinaea mneme |
|---|---|
| Location | Rio Cristalino Lodge, Mato Grosso, Brasil |
| Sex | Male |
| Source | Mneme Clearwing |
| Source Collection | Neotropical Butterflies |
| Copyright | © 2003 Kim Garwood |
About This Page
Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, USA
Correspondence regarding this page should be directed to Andrew V. Z. Brower at
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Melinaea .
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Andrew V. Z. Brower.
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- First online 28 September 2006
- Content changed 18 May 2009
Citing this page:
Brower, Andrew V. Z. 2009. Melinaea . Version 18 May 2009 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Melinaea/27591/2009.05.18 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/
