Duke of Burgundy (butterfly)

Duke of Burgundy
Both males Ivinghoe Beacon, Buckinghamshire
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Riodinidae
Subfamily:	Nemeobiinae
Tribe:	Zemerini Stichel, 1928
Genus:	Hamearis Hübner, [1819]
Species:	H. lucina
Binomial name
Hamearis lucina (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
Genus: Nemeobius Stephens, 1827 Species: Papilio lucina, Linnaeus, 1758

Genus:

Species:

Hamearis lucina, the Duke of Burgundy, the only member of the genus Hamearis, is a European butterfly in the family Riodinidae. For many years, it was known as the "Duke of Burgundy fritillary", because the adult's chequered pattern is strongly reminiscent of "true" fritillaries of the family Nymphalidae.

Riodinidae is currently treated as a distinct family within the superfamily Papilionoidea, but in the past they were held to be the subfamily Riodininae of the Lycaenidae. Earlier, they were considered to be part of the now defunct family "Erycinidae", whose species are divided between this family and the subfamily Libytheinae.

The genus Hamearis, described by Jacob Hübner in 1819 is a monotypic genus of uncertain position (incertae sedis). Here it is considered part of subfamily Nemeobiinae, tribe Zemerini, within the metalmark butterfly family (Riodinidae). Some authors have instead advocated its separation as type genus of a subfamily of its own, Hamearinae.

The male has a wingspan of 29–31 millimetres (1.1–1.2 in), and the female 31–34 mm (1.2–1.3 in). The upperside of the wings are marked in a chequered pattern strongly reminiscent of a fritillary butterfly (family Nymphalidae); however, the Duke of Burgundy may be separated by its wing shape.Hamearis lucina also has a distinctive underwing pattern.

The species range is restricted to the Western Palaearctic, from Spain, the UK and Sweden to the Balkans. It is the sole representative of its (sub)family in Europe.

...
Wikipedia