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Pronounced - Leh-pih-DOP-ter-ra
- Lepidoptera means "scale wing", from Greek: lepis (λεπις / genitive form λεπιδος)- "scale" + ptera (πτερα)- "wing"
- second largest order of insects (beetles are #1) mostly moths
- 89 families and 12,766+ species in North America, although there may be many undescribed species (mostly micromoths)
- two pairs of wings covered with small scales that rub off easily
- only insects with sucking mouth parts in the form of a coiled tube.
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
- in the larval stage, most butterfly and moth species feed on leaves, often of a particular plant or related group of plants
- metamorphosis is complete
Size
Wingspan of North American species ranges from about 2-3 mm in the tiniest micromoths, to more than 150 mm in the largest silk, sphinx, and owlet moths; some tropical species have wingspans of more than 250 mm (see Largest Lepidopteran Wing Span)
Identification
- Adults have four membranous wings (rarely wingless);
- hindwings are usually smaller than forewings
- both largely or entirely covered with scales.
- Adult mouthparts adapted for sucking,
- the proboscis is usually in the form of a coiled tube (adults of some species lack mouthparts and do not feed as adults).
- Common practice is to divide the Lepidoptera into two (or three) groups, though this is not, strictly speaking, a taxonomic division.
Moths
- Usually have feathery antennae and most are active at night.
- They generally rest with their wings open, either flat or "tented" over the body.
-Rarely, the wings are held together vertically above the body as with butterflies.
- The caterpillars of many species dig into the ground to pupate.
- When they pupate above ground they generally form a protective cocoon around the pupa. This is made of silk, often combined with other natural materials such as leaves or their own body hair.
- Larvae (caterpillars) have a hardened head capsule and a fleshy body composed of a thorax bearing three pairs of legs, and an elongated cylindrical abdomen bearing from zero to five pairs of prolegs (short fleshy ventral projections used for clinging or walking). - The body may be either uniformly colored or patterned with stripes, bands, or spots; the surface may be smooth, or may be sparsely or densely covered with short or long hairs, tufts of hair, spines, knobs, or other features.
Butterflies
- Have thin antennae with "knobs" on the end and are generally active during the day.
- They rest with their wings closed above their bodies, and make a naked pupa also known as a chrysalis.
Skippers
- A separate group of butterflies, with many distinctive features.
- They are (mostly) day-flying
- Have knobbed antennae, and rest with wings folded or spread, depending on the group.
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