Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 13, 2026

Melitaeini

Melitaeini are a group of brush-footed butterflies. Usually classified as a tribe of the Nymphalinae, they are sometimes raised to subfamily status as Melitaeinae. Common names include the highly ambiguous fritillaries, checkerspots, crescents, or crescentspots, and some genus-specific names.

Last revised
Jun 13, 2026
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Wikipedia ↗
Melitaeini
Pearl crescent (Phyciodes tharos)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Clade: Pancrustacea
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Subfamily: Nymphalinae
Tribe: Melitaeini
Newman, 1870
Genera

Numerous, see text

Synonyms

Melitaeinae

Melitaeini are a group of brush-footed butterflies. Usually classified as a tribe of the Nymphalinae, they are sometimes raised to subfamily status as Melitaeinae. Common names include the highly ambiguous fritillaries (also used for some Heliconiinae), checkerspots, crescents, or crescentspots, and some genus-specific names.

Chlosyne janais, Campeche, Mexico source ↗

Genera

The 20–25 genera of Melitaeini are divided among five subtribes; some species are also listed. The subtribes, in the presumed phylogenetic sequence, are:1

Footnotes

Footnotes

  1. See references in Savela (2010)
References

References

  • Savela, Markku (2010): Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms – Melitaeini. Version of 30 June 2010. Retrieved 10 February 2011.