Adelpha

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Ecdysozoa
Cladus: Panarthropoda
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Classis: Insecta
Cladus: Dicondylia
Subclassis: Pterygota
Cladus: Metapterygota
Infraclassis: Neoptera
Cladus: Eumetabola
Cladus: Endopterygota
Superordo: Panorpida
Cladus: Amphiesmenoptera
Ordo: Lepidoptera
Subordo: Glossata
Cladus: Coelolepida
Cladus: Myoglossata
Cladus: Neolepidoptera
Infraordo: Heteroneura
Cladus: Eulepidoptera
Cladus: Ditrysia
Cladus: Apoditrysia
Cladus: Obtectomera
Superfamilia: Papilionoidea

Familia: Nymphalidae
Subfamilia Limenitidinae
Tribus: Limenitidini
Genus: Adelpha
Species (90):
A. abia – A. abyla – A. alala – A. amazona – A. argentea – A. aricia – A. atlantica – A. attica – A. barnesia – A. basiloides – A. boeotia – A. boreas – A. bredowii – A. californica – A. calliphane – A. capucinus – A. cocala – A. corcyra – A. coryneta – A. cytherea – A. delinita – A. demialba – A. diazi – A. diocles – A. donysa – A. epione – A. epizygis – A. erotia – A. erymanthis – A. escalantei – A. ethelda – A. eulalia – A. fabricia – A. falcipennis – A. felderi – A. fessonia – A. gavina – A. gelania – A. heraclea – A. herbita – A. hesterbergi – A. hyas – A. iphicleola – A. iphiclus – A. irmina – A. jacquelinae – A. jordani – A. justina – A. lamasi – A. leuceria – A. leucerioides – A. leucophthalma – A. levona – A. lycorias – A. malea – A. margarita – A. melona – A. mesentina – A. messana – A. milleri – A. mythra – A. naxia – A. nea – A. olynthia – A. palmarensis – A. paraena – A. paroeca – A. phylaca – A. pithys – A. plesaure – A. pollina – A. poltius – A. radiata – A. rothschildi – A. salmoneus – A. salus – A. saundersii – A. seriphia – A. serpa – A. shuara – A. sichaeus – A. stilesiana – A. syma – A. thesprotia – A. thessalia – A. thoasa – A. tracta – A. viola – A. ximena – A. zea – A. zina
Name

Adelpha Hübner, [1819], Verz. bek. Schmett. (3): 42.
Synonyms

Heterochroa Boisduval, [1836]
Sometimes included within Limenitis.

References

Aiello, A. 1984: Adelpha (Nymphalidae): deception on the wing. Psyche, 91: 1–46.
Brower, A.V.Z., 2008, Adelpha Hübner 1819. Version 18 July 2008, The Tree of Life Web Project. [accessed 9 June 2009]
Lamas, G. (ed.) 2004, Atlas of Neotropical Lepidoptera, Checklist, Part 4A: Hesperioidea - Papilionoidea.
Oppler & Warren, 2003, Butterflies of North America 2. Scientific Names List of Butterfly Species of North America, north of Mexico.
Prudic, K.L., A.D. Warren & J. Llorente-Bousquets, 2008, Molecular and morphological evidence reveals three species within the California sister butterfly, Adelpha bredowii (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae Limenitidinae). Zootaxa, 1819.
Steinhauser, S.R., 1974: Notes on neotropical Nymphalidae and Hesperiidae with descriptions of new species and subspecies and a new genus. Bulletin of the Allyn Museum 22: 1–38.
Steinhauser, S.R. & L.D. Miller, 1977: Three new species of Adelpha (Nymphalidae) from Mexico and Colombia. Bulletin of the Allyn Museum 46: 1–10. Full article: [1]
Willmott, K.R., 2003: The genus Adelpha: Its Systematics, Biology and Biogeography (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Limenitidini). Scientific Publishers, Gainsville: 1–322. Full article: [2].
Willmott, K.R., 2003: Cladistic analysis of the Neotropical butterfly genus Adelpha (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), with comments on the subtribal classification of Limenitidini. Systematic Entomology 28: 279–322. Full article: [3]
Willmott, K.R. & J.P.W. Hall, 1995: Two new species of Adelpha from eastern Ecuador (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Tropical Lepidoptera 6 (2): 106–109. Full article: [4].
Willmott, K.R. & J.P.W. Hall, 1999: Taxonomic notes on Ecuadorian Adelpha, with the description of two new species and seven new subspecies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae Limenitidinae). Tropical Lepidoptera Research 10 (1): 1–17. Full article: [5].
Willmott, K.R. & Hall, J.P.W., 2013: A new species and two new subspecieis of Adelpha Hubner, [1819] from the tropical Andes (Nymphalidae Limenitidinae), Journal of the Lepidopterists’ Society, 67 (4): 241–252. Full article: [6].

Vernacular names
English: sisters

Adelpha is a genus of brush-footed butterflies found from the southern United States and Mexico to South America. They are commonly known as sisters, due to the white markings on their wings, which resemble a nun's habit.[1] This genus is sometimes included with the admiral butterflies (Limenitis).

Species

Listed alphabetically within species group:[2][3]

The alala species group:

Adelpha alala (Hewitson, 1847) – Alala sister
Adelpha aricia (Hewitson, 1847)
Adelpha corcyra (Hewitson, 1847)
Adelpha donysa (Hewitson, 1847) – montane sister
Adelpha pithys (Bates, 1864) – pithys sister
Adelpha tracta (Butler, 1872) – tracta sister

The capucinus species group:

Adelpha barnesia Schaus, 1902 – Barnes' sister
Adelpha capucinus (Walch, 1775) – capycinus sister
Adelpha epizygis Fruhstorfer, 1915
Adelpha fabricia Fruhstorfer, 1913

The cocala species group:

Adelpha argentea Willmott & Hall, 1995
Adelpha boreas (Butler, 1866) – gaudy sister
Adelpha cocala (Cramer, 1779) – cocala sister, orange-washed sister
Adelpha coryneta (Hewitson, 1874)
Adelpha erymanthis Godman & Salvin, 1884 – Godman's sister
Adelpha felderi (Boisduval, 1870) – rusty sister, Felder's sister
Adelpha irmina (Doubleday, 1848) – Irmina sister
Adelpha jordani (Fruhstorfer, 1913) – Jordan's sister
Adelpha justina (C. & R. Felder, 1861)
Adelpha lamasi Willmott & Hall, 1999
Adelpha leucophthalma (Latreille, 1809) – Veracruz sister
Adelpha levona Steinhauser & Miller, 1977
Adelpha milleri Beutelspacher, 1976 – cloistered sister
Adelpha olynthia (C. & R. Felder, 1867) – Olynthia sister
Adelpha rothschildi Fruhstorfer, 1913
Adelpha salus Hall, 1935 – lost sister
Adelpha saundersii (Hewitson, 1867) – Saunder's sister
Adelpha shuara Willmott & Hall, 1995
Adelpha sichaeus (Butler, 1866)
Adelpha stilesiana DeVries & Chacón, 1982
Adelpha zina (Hewitson, 1867) – Zina sister

The iphiclus species group:

Adelpha abyla (Hewitson, 1850) – Jamaican sister
Adelpha basiloides (Bates, 1865) – spot-celled sister
Adelpha calliphane Fruhstorfer, 1915
Adelpha falcipennis Fruhstorfer, 1915
Adelpha gavina Fruhstorfer, 1915
Adelpha iphicleola (Bates, 1864) – confusing sister
Adelpha iphiclus (Linnaeus, 1758) – pointed sister
Adelpha mythra (Godart, 1824) – Mythra sister
Adelpha plesaure Hübner, 1823 – pleasure sister
Adelpha poltius Hall, 1938
Adelpha thessalia (C. & R. Felder, 1867) – Thessalia sister
Adelpha thoasa (Hewitson, 1850) – thoasa sister

Adelpha plesaure

The phylaca species group:

Adelpha erotia (Hewitson, 1847) – stitched sister
Adelpha lycorias (Godart, 1824) – rayed sister
Adelpha mesentina (Cramer, 1777) – mesentina sister
Adelpha phylaca (Bates, 1866) – Cecropia sister
Adelpha messana (C. & R. Felder, 1867) – Messana or Thesprotia sister

The serpa species group:

Adelpha bredowii Geyer, 1837 – Bredow's sister
Adelpha californica (Butler, 1865) – California sister
Adelpha diocles Godman & Salvin, 1878 – tailed sister
Adelpha eulalia E. Doubleday, 1848) – Arizona sister
Adelpha herbita Weymer, 1907
Adelpha hyas (Doyère, 1840)
Adelpha nea (Hewitson, 1847) – Nea sister
Adelpha paraena (Bates, 1865) – Massilia sister, Bates' sister
Adelpha paroeca (Bates, 1864) – eyed sister
Adelpha radiata Fruhstorfer, 1915 – striated sister
Adelpha seriphia (C. & R. Felder, 1867) – dentate sister
Adelpha serpa (Boisduval, 1836) – celerio sister, celadon sister
Adelpha zea (Hewitson, 1850) – Zea sister

Adelpha californica

Ungrouped:

Adelpha abia (Hewitson, 1850)
Adelpha amazona Austin & Jasinski, 1999
Adelpha atlantica Willmott, 2003
Adelpha attica (C. & R. Felder, 1867) – Attica sister
Adelpha boeotia (C. & R. Felder, 1867) – Felder's sister
Adelpha cytherea (Linnaeus, 1758) – smooth-banded sister
Adelpha demialba (Butler, 1872) – white-spotted sister
Adelpha delinita Fruhstorfer, 1913 – Fruhstorfer's Sister or delineated sister
Adelpha diazi Beutelspacher, 1975 – Diaz's sister
Adelpha ethelda (Hewitson, 1867) – silver-banded sister
Adelpha epione (Godart, 1824) – white-barred sister
Adelpha fessonia (Hewitson, 1847) – Mexican sister, band-celled sister
Adelpha gelania (Godart, 1824) – Antillean sister
Adelpha heraclea (C. & R. Felder, 1867) – Heraclea sister
Adelpha hesterbergi Willmott & Hall, 1999
Adelpha leuceria (Druce, 1874) – orange-striped sister
Adelpha leucerioides Beutelspacher, 1975 – Veracruz sister
Adelpha malea (C. & R. Felder, 1861) – Venezuelan sister
Adelpha melona (Hewitson, 1847) – Mellona sister
Adelpha naxia (C. & R. Felder, 1867) – Naxia sister, three-part sister
Adelpha pollina Fruhstorfer, 1915
Adelpha salmoneus (Butler, 1866) – golden-banded sister
Adelpha syma (Godart, 1824) – Syma sister
Adelpha viola Fruhstorfer, 1913