Abstract
A few pterin pigments were discovered in the wings of six of eight libytheid species tested, using thin-layer chromatography with 1 % HC1 in butanol as a solvent. A 10X sample ofLibytheana bachmanii larvata (Strecker) produced xanthopterin, isoxanthopterin, erythropterin, and leucopterin. Leucopterin was absent in the other libytheids tested. Morphology and pterin pigment data from wings suggest a Pieridae ancestry for the Libytheidae from the region of the northern Neotropical realm (including the Greater Antilles).
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Research Associate in Entomology, Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History.
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Shields, O. Presence of pterin pigments in wings of libytheidae butterflies. J Chem Ecol 13, 1843–1847 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01013233
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01013233