Nymphalidae Forum

Welcome to the Nymphalidae scratchpad! The family Nymphalidae is the most speciose family of butterflies with about 6000 described species so far. The family contains many well-known species, such as the monarch, the Painted Lady, the buckeye, the fritillaries, checkerspots and the electric blue morphos. Indeed, nymphalids are in many places the most visible members of the local butterfly fauna. Due to their visibility and ease of study in the field and lab, many species of nymphalids have been used as model systems to understand the complexity of life on this planet. By studying the numbers of species, their relationships, their evolutionary history and their interactions with other organisms, we are better able to appreciate just how multifaceted Nature is. Hopefully we can use this knowledge to keep our planet a livable place, for humans as well as the multitude of other organisms we share the Earth with!

The classification of these fascinating and popular insects has been very labile in the past several decades as the relationships of the major lineages in the family have not been clear, nor has the species level taxonomy been well-resolved. This is fortunately changing right now, with the higher level classification already quite certain (based on a large number phylogenetic studies published in the 21st century using both morphological and molecular data), and with the actual number of species and their names being clarified.

This web page will give an up-to-date classification of Nymphalidae down to the species level based on the most recent work on any group in the family.