Riodinidae

Riodinidae is a family of butterflies.  They are commonly known as riodinids or metalmarks. Metalmarks get their name from the bright, metallic (looking like metal) markings found on the wings of most species.Jim P. Brock and Kenn Kaufman (2003). Butterflies of North America. Houghton Mifflin, New York, NY.  The family has nearly 2,000 species in it. The metalmarks are mostly found in the Neotropical region. Most metalmarks are small. Their wingspan ranges from 20mm to 65mm. Metalmarks vary greatly in wing shape, pattern, and color.Paul Smart Fres (1977). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Butterfly World. Chartwell Books Inc., NY. 

Riodinidae was formerly known as the family Nemeobiidae and as the family Erycinidae. It was also once thought to be a subfamily of Lycaenidae.

Subfamilies
 Euselasiinae
 Nemeobiinae - This subfamily is sometimes treated as a tribe.
 Riodininae

Some species
 Hamearis lucina - Duke of Burgundy
 Apodemia mormo - Mormon Metalmark
 Lasaia sula - Blue Metalmark
 Melanis pixe - Red-bordered Pixie

Image gallery

References

Category:Butterflies