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 ...
The butterfly was sometimes depicted with the maw of a jaguar, and some species were considered to be the reincarnations of the souls of dead warriors. The close association of butterflies with fire and warfare persisted into the Aztec civilisation ; evidence of similar jaguar-butterfly images has been found among the Zapotec and Maya ...
Many species have been recorded as breeding in natural materials or refuse such as owl pellets, bat caves, honey-combs or diseased fruit. [ 5 ] Of the approximately 174,250 lepidopteran species described until 2007, butterflies and skippers are estimated to comprise approximately 17,950, with moths making up the rest.
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 ...
While the butterflies form a monophyletic group, the moths, which comprise the rest of the Lepidoptera, do not. Many attempts have been made to group the superfamilies of the Lepidoptera into natural groups, most of which fail because one of the two groups is not monophyletic: Microlepidoptera and Macrolepidoptera, Heterocera and Rhopalocera, Jugatae and Frenatae, Monotrysia and Ditrysia.
Over 1.5 million living animal species have been described—of which around 1 million are insects—but it has been estimated there are over 7 million in total. Animals range in size from 8.5 millionths of a metre to 33.6 metres (110 ft) long and have complex interactions with each other and their environments, forming intricate food webs .
Most species in the list are officially designated. Some species hold only an "unofficial" status. Additionally, the list includes animals that were once official but are no longer, as well as animals recognized as national symbols or for other symbolic roles.
Danainae (milkweed butterflies, earlier treated as the distinct family Danaidae) Host plant families include Apocynaceae, Asclepiadoideae (subfamily of Apocynaceae), and Moraceae. Ithomiini (about 300 Neotropical species, sometimes considered a subfamily Ithomiinae) Most species have long wings, and some have transparent wings.