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The ''Phengaris rebeli'' (formerly ''Maculinea rebeli''), common name Mountain Alcon Blue,〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Maculinea rebeli )〕 is a species of butterfly in the Lycaenidae family. It was first found and described in Styria, Austria on Mount Hochschwab around 1700. Although it was initially classified as a subspecies of ''P. alcon'', a European researcher, Lucien A. Berger, designated it as a separate species in 1946. Although ''P. rebeli'' is found across the Palearctic (see subspecies), it is difficult to determine exactly where they inhabit because of their similarity with ''P. alcon''. In West Europe they are thought to be concentrated in the Alps and in Southern Europe. Behavioral ecologists have found its role as a brood parasite to be of particular interest as, unlike many brood parasites, it does not directly oviposit in the hosts' nests. The ''P. rebeli'' parasitizes the colony ant species ''Myrmica schencki'' as a larva by using chemical mimicry to trick the ants into believing that they are ant larvae; thus, the ants bring the ''P. rebeli'' larvae back to their own nests and feed them. It also parasitizes the foodplant ''Gentiana cruciata'' early in its lifecycle, but in turn, is parasitized by the ''Ichneumon eumerus'' when it is in the ''M. schencki's'' nest. It was placed on the IUCN Red List in 2000 and is classified as a species 'vulnerable' to extinction.〔 Although a separate species from the ''P. alcon'', its DNA genome and appearance are extremely similar, leading many researchers to argue that any differences between the two species are due to intraspecific variation.〔 == Taxonomy == The ''Phengaris'' genus is a subsect within the ''Maculinea'' genus (explaining why the ''P. rebeli'' was formerly known as the ''M. rebeli'') and the ''Maculinea-Phengaris'' clade is thought to be a sect within ''Glaucopsyche''. There are three groups within this ''Maculinea-Phengaris'' clade: the ''alcon'' group, the ''teleius'' group, and the ''Arion-Phengaris'' group. The groups are divided based on their alternative strategies of parasitizing its host colony (Myrmica ants).〔 The predatory (in which the caterpillar preys on the host ants) and 'cuckoo' (in which the caterpillars feed off of the ants' regurgitation) strategies are derived characteristics from the ''alcon'' group, with the predatory strategy having evolved from the ''teleius'' group and the cuckoo strategy having evolved from the ''arion-Phengaris'' group. Another way these groups are categorized is by whether or not they release a certain chemical (dorsal nectary organ secretions) to attract the attention of the host ant. This trait is not as prominent in ancestors of the ''alcon'' group and in the ''M. nausithous'', which is part of the ''teleius'' group.〔 The ''P. rebeli'' is most closely related to both species of the ''Maculinea alcon'' (the ''M. alcon alcon'' and the ''M. alcon kondakovi'') with the ''M. alcon alcon'' being more closely related to the ''P. rebeli'' than to the ''M. alcon kondakovi''.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Phengaris rebeli」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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