TYT.LThome / Insecta · vabzdžiai / Lepidoptera · drugiai / Lycaenidae · melsviai

Lycaenidae · melsviai

  • gossamer-winged butterflies
  • Bläulinge
  • melsviai
  • zeltainīšu dzimta
  • modraszkowate

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lycaenidae Lycaenids are diverse in their food habits and apart from phytophagy, some of them are entomophagous, feeding on aphids, scale insects, and ant larvae. Some lycaenids even exploit their association with ants by inducing ants to feed them by regurgitation, a process called trophallaxis. Not all lycaenid butterflies need ants, but about 75% of species associate with ants, a relationship called myrmecophily. These associations can be mutualistic, parasitic, or predatory depending on the species.