Danainae
Niklas Wahlberg and Andrew V. Z. Brower
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close boxIntroduction
The name Danainae is here applied to the clade inclusive of the pantropical milkweed butterflies ("Danaidae" of authors), the neotropical clearwing butterflies ("Ithomiidae" of authors), and the monogeneric Australasian Tellervo, which has commonly been accorded subfamilial rank. Larvae of all three possess thoracic tubercles and are associated with apocynaceous larval hostplants, at least among basal members of each group. All are aposematic as adults and many serve as models or co-mimics in mimicry complexes.
Discussion of Phylogenetic Relationships
These groups have traditionally been united by similarities of hostplant use–basal members of each group are associated with Asclepiadaceae and/or Apocynaceae (Ackery 1988). Molecular evidence supporting their close relationship has been found by Brower (2000), and morphological synapomorphies by Freitas and Brown (2004).
References
Ackery PR. 1988. Hostplants and classification: a review of nymphalid butterflies. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 33: 95-203.
Brower AVZ. 2000. Phylogenetic relationships among the Nymphalidae (Lepidoptera) inferred from partial sequences of the wingless gene. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B 267: 1201-1211.
Freitas AVL, and Brown KSJ. 2004. Phylogeny of the Nymphalidae (Lepidoptera). Systematic Biology 53: 363-383.
Title Illustrations
The photos above illustrate representatives of the three danaine clades:
- Danaini: Ideopsis (left)
- Tellervinini: Tellervo (center)
- Ithomiini: Greta (right)
| Scientific Name | Ideopsis similis |
|---|---|
| Location | Taiwan |
| Specimen Condition | Live Specimen |
| Source | IMG_7755al1 |
| Source Collection | Flickr |
| Image Use |
 This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License - Version 2.0.
|
| Copyright | © 2006 leemt2 |
| Scientific Name | Tellervo zoilus |
|---|---|
| Location | Queensland, Australia |
| Specimen Condition | Dead Specimen |
| Identified By | Darrell Kemp |
| Image Use |
This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0.
|
| Copyright |
© Niklas Wahlberg
|
| Scientific Name | Greta morgane |
|---|---|
| Location | captive, Bedford Butterfly Park |
| Specimen Condition | Live Specimen |
| Source | Glass Wing |
| Source Collection | Flickr |
| Image Use |
This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs License - Version 2.0.
|
| Copyright | © 2006 Bill Hails |
About This Page
Niklas Wahlberg
University of Turku, Finland
Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, USA
Correspondence regarding this page should be directed to Niklas Wahlberg at and Andrew V. Z. Brower at
Page copyright © 2009 Niklas Wahlberg and
Page: Tree of Life
Danainae .
Authored by
Niklas Wahlberg and Andrew V. Z. Brower.
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- First online 25 September 2006
- Content changed 27 October 2008
Citing this page:
Wahlberg, Niklas and Andrew V. Z. Brower. 2008. Danainae . Version 27 October 2008 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Danainae/12187/2008.10.27 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/
