Kickass Mutualisms: Lycaenids+Ants

The Lycaenidae (gossamer-winged butterflies) is the second largest family of butterflies, with ~5000 species, including some of the more famous butterflies, such as the Theclinae (hairstreaks), the Polyommatinae (blues) and the Lycaeninae (coppers). They are mostly found in the Old World (de Jong, 2003), where 28 of the 33 lycaenid tribes are endemic.