What is "lycaenidae"

Lycaenidae \Lycaenidae\ n. A natural family of small usually brilliantly colored butterflies; males have short forelegs.

Syn: family Lycaenidae.

Lycaenidae is the second-largest family of butterflies (behind Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflies), with over 5,000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies. They constitute about 30% 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 the Lipteninae, Liphyrinae, Curetinae and Poritiinae, but some authorities also include the family Riodinidae within the Lycaenidae .

Adults are small, under 5 cm usually, and brightly coloured, sometimes with a metallic gloss.

Larvae are often flattened rather than cylindrical, with glands that may produce secretions that attract and subdue ants. Their cuticles tend to be thickened. Some larva are capable of producing vibrations and low sounds that are transmitted through the substrates they inhabit. They use these sounds to communicate with ants.

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.