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'Callidulidae', the only known family of the superfamily 'Calliduloidea', is the family of "Old World butterfly-moths", containing eight genera. They have a peculiar distribution, restricted to the Old World tropics of South East Asia to Australasia and Madagascar. The three subfamilies exhibit both day-flying and night-flying behaviour.
The mainly day-flying Callidulinae can be distinguished by their resting posture, which is the most butterfly-like, with the wings held closely over the back. Resembling the butterfly family Lycaenidae, these moths can be told apart by their antennae which taper to a point or may be very subtly clubbed. The more often night-flying Pterothysaninae and Griveaudiinae have a different adult resting posture (the latter roof-like in repose) and these were not placed within the Callidulidae until recently.^[1]
Biology of most subfamilies and species. is poorly known. Eggs are very flat in Griveaudiinae and Callidulinae, and caterpillars of Callidulinae are green with a shiny black head and have only been reported from ferns^[2] forming a leaf roll in which they live, eat and finally pupate, while the pupa of ''Helicomitra'' appears to be subterranean.^[3]
The closest relatives of Callidulidae are not known, but they are currently placed in a group that includes the three butterfly superfamilies, the "hook-tip moths" Drepanoidea and the "geometer moths" Geometroidea and also possibly Axioidea which share some structural characteristics.^[4]

Contents

Cited references

Other references

External links

Cited references

1. Minet, J. (1986). Ébauche d'une classification moderne de l'ordre des Lépidoptères. ''Alexanor'' 14(7): 291-313.
2. Gaden S. Robinson, Phillip R. Ackery, Ian J. Kitching, George W. Beccaloni & Luis M. Hernández. HOSTS database. [1] (Accessed May 2007)
3. Minet, J. (1987). Description d'une chrysalide de Pterothysaninae (Lep. Callidulidae). ''Nouvelle Revue d'Entomologie'' (''N.S.'') '4'(3): 312.
4. Minet, J. (1999 [1988]). The Axioidea and Calliduloidea. Ch. 16, pp. 257-261 in Kristensen, N.P. (Ed.). ''Lepidoptera, Moths and Butterflies''. Volume 1: Evolution, Systematics, and Biogeography. Handbuch der Zoologie. Eine Naturgeschichte der Stämme des Tierreiches / Handbook of Zoology. A Natural History of the phyla of the Animal Kingdom. Band / Volume IV Arthropoda: Insecta Teilband / Part 35: 491 pp. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, New York.

Other references

★ Minet, J. (1990 [1989]). Nouvelles frontières, géographiques et taxonomiques, pur la famille des Callidulidae (Lepidoptera, Calliduloidea). ''Nouvelle Revue d'Entomologie'' (''N.S.'') '6'(4): 351-368.

★ Maddison, David R. 2003. Callidulidae. [2] in The Tree of Life Web Project, [3] Accessed October 2006

★ O'Toole, Christopher (Ed.) (2002) ''Firefly Encyclopedia of Insects and Spiders''. ISBN 1-55297-612-2

External links

★ Tree of Life

★ Natural History Museum hosts database

★ Natural History Museum Lepindex Available names

★ Moths of Borneo Callidulidae

★ Moths of Borneo Callidulinae images

★ Callidulinae species

★ ''Callidula attenuata'' Accessed 4 March 2007

★ Photo illustrating rest position