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The role of caterpillars in the life stages of butterflies was badly understood. In 1679 Maria Sibylla Merian published the first volume of The Caterpillars' Marvelous Transformation and Strange Floral Food, which contained 50 illustrations and a description of insects, moths, butterflies and their larvae. [39]
The butterflies form the clade Rhopalocera, which is composed of three superfamilies: Hedyloidea (the moth butterfly family Hedylidae), the Hesperioidea (the skipper family Hesperiidae), and the Papilionoidea (the true butterfly families Papilionidae, Pieridae, Nymphalidae, Lycaenidae, and Riodinidae). All of these families are monophyletic.
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.
A Lepidoptera specimen drawer in a museum collection in Poland Another Lepidoptera specimen drawer in a museum collection in Poland. 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.
In butterflies, the exposed pupa is often referred to as a chrysalis, derived from the Greek term "chrysalis": χρυσός (chrysós) for gold, referring to the golden colour of some pupae. [68] The caterpillars of many butterflies attach themselves by a button of silk to the underside of a branch, stone, or other projecting surface.
When the caterpillar first hatches from the egg, it is about 2 mm long and 0.5 mm in diameter. The body is divided up into twelve segments, and the color is usually pale yellow. As the caterpillar undergoes development through five instar phases, it grows to become 18–20 mm long and more reddish in color.
Hairs from the caterpillars are toxic for humans, [5] causing a poison ivy-like itchy rash of up to sometimes weeks-long duration due to mechanical and chemical irritation. [6] [7] Direct contact with larvae is not necessary, as the hairs are shed and can become windblown. [5] Toxins in the hairs remain potent for up to three years.
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 ...