Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Lepidoptera (/ ˌ l ɛ p ɪ ˈ d ɒ p t ər ə / LEP-ih-DOP-tər-ə) or lepidopterans is an order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths.About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organisms, [1] [2] making it the second largest insect order (behind Coleoptera) with 126 families [3] and 46 superfamilies ...
Butterfly antennal shapes, mainly clubbed, unlike those of moths. Drawn by C. T. Bingham, 1905. As in all insects, the body is divided into three sections: the head, thorax, and abdomen. The thorax is composed of three segments, each with a pair of legs.
Lepidopterology (from Ancient Greek λεπίδος (lepídos) 'scale' πτερόν (pterón) 'wing' and -λογία [1]) is a branch of entomology concerning the scientific study of moths and the two superfamilies of butterflies. Someone who studies in this field is a lepidopterist or, archaically, an aurelian.
The insect order Lepidoptera consists of moths and butterflies (43 superfamilies). [1] Most moths are night-flying, while the butterflies (superfamily Papilionoidea ) are the mainly day-flying. Within Lepidoptera as a whole, the groups listed below before Glossata contain a few basal families accounting for less than 200 species; the bulk of ...
Monarch butterfly caterpillar D. p. plexippus Piedra Herrada, Mexico. The monarch butterfly or simply monarch (Danaus plexippus) is a milkweed butterfly (subfamily Danainae) in the family Nymphalidae. [6] Other common names, depending on region, include milkweed, common tiger, wanderer, and black-veined brown. [7]
Euthalia aconthea (baron butterfly) caterpillar found in India Caterpillar of Papilio machaon A monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) caterpillar feeding on an unopened seed pod of swamp milkweed. Caterpillars (/ ˈ k æ t ər p ɪ l ər / KAT-ər-pil-ər) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising ...
The largest of these, the birdwing butterflies are particularly sought after and are cultured in butterfly farms to supply collectors. Many members of the family, as larvae, feed on plants of the citrus family Rutaceae, making some of these attractive butterflies pests in citrus orchards. The Oregon swallowtail is the state insect of Oregon.
The scales on butterfly wings are pigmented with melanins that can produce the colours black and brown. The white colour in the butterfly family Pieridae is a derivative of uric acid, an excretory product. [13] [40]: 84 Bright blues, greens, reds, and iridescence are usually created not by pigments but through the microstructure of the scales.