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Lepidoptera is an order of insects that includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 families and 46 superfamilies, 10 per cent of the total described species of living organisms. It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world. The Lepidoptera show many variations of the basic body structure that have evolved to gain advantages in lifestyle and distribution. Recent estimates suggest the order may have more species than earlier thought, and is among the four most speciose orders, along with the Hymenoptera, Diptera, and Coleoptera.
The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is a widely accepted convention in zoology that rules the formal scientific naming of organisms treated as animals. It is also informally known as the ICZN Code, for its publisher, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. The rules principally regulate:
The Pieridae are a large family of butterflies with about 76 genera containing about 1,100 species, mostly from tropical Africa and tropical Asia with some varieties in the more northern regions of North America. Most pierid butterflies are white, yellow, or orange in coloration, often with black spots. The pigments that give the distinct coloring to these butterflies are derived from waste products in the body and are a characteristic of this family. The family was created by William John Swainson in 1820.
The Noctuidae, commonly known as owlet moths, cutworms or armyworms, are the most controversial family in the superfamily Noctuoidea because many of the clades are constantly changing, along with the other families of the Noctuoidea. It was considered the largest family in Lepidoptera for a long time, but after regrouping Lymantriinae, Catocalinae and Calpinae within the family Erebidae, the latter holds this title now. Currently, Noctuidae is the second largest family in Noctuoidea, with about 1,089 genera and 11,772 species. However, this classification is still contingent, as more changes continue to appear between Noctuidae and Erebidae.
The Arctiinae are a large and diverse subfamily of moths, with around 11,000 species found all over the world, including 6,000 neotropical species. This group includes the groups commonly known as tiger moths, which usually have bright colours, footmen, which are usually much drabber, lichen moths, and wasp moths. Many species have "hairy" caterpillars that are popularly known as woolly bears or woolly worms. The scientific name of this subfamily refers to this hairiness. Some species within the Arctiinae have the word tussock in their common name due to people misidentifying them as members of the Lymantriinae based on the characteristics of the larvae.
A proboscis is an elongated appendage from the head of an animal, either a vertebrate or an invertebrate. In invertebrates, the term usually refers to tubular mouthparts used for feeding and sucking. In vertebrates, a proboscis is an elongated nose or snout.
The Ditrysia are a natural group or clade of insects in the lepidopteran order containing both butterflies and moths. They are so named because the female has two distinct sexual openings: one for mating, and the other for laying eggs.
The Lymantriinae are a subfamily of moths of the family Erebidae. The taxon was erected by George Hampson in 1893.
Eriocraniidae is a family of moths restricted to the Holarctic region, with six extant genera. These small, metallic moths are usually day-flying, emerging fairly early in the northern temperate Spring. They have a proboscis with which they drink water or sap. The larvae are leaf miners on Fagales, principally the trees birch (Betula) and oak (Quercus) but a few on Salicales and Rosales.
Coleophora is a very large genus of moths of the family Coleophoridae. It contains some 1,350 described species. The genus is represented on all continents, but the majority are found in the Nearctic and Palaearctic regions. Many authors have tried splitting the genus into numerous smaller ones, but most of these have not become widely accepted.
The Arctiini are a tribe of tiger moths in the family Erebidae.
Nepticulidae is a family of very small moths with a worldwide distribution. They are characterised by eyecaps over the eyes. These pigmy moths or midget moths, as they are commonly known, include the smallest of all living moths, with a wingspan that can be as little as 3 mm in the case of the European pigmy sorrel moth, but more usually 3.5–10 mm. The wings of adult moths are narrow and lanceolate, sometimes with metallic markings, and with the venation very simplified compared to most other moths.
Eupterotidae is a family of insects in the order Lepidoptera with more than 300 described species.
Brachodidae is a family of day-flying moths, commonly known as little bear moths, which contains about 135 species distributed around much of the world. The relationships and status of the presently included genera are not well understood.
Urodidae or "false burnet moths" is a family of moths in the lepidopteran order, representing its own superfamily, Urodoidea, with three genera, one of which, Wockia, occurs in Europe.
Lepidopterology, is a branch of entomology concerning the scientific study of moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies. Someone who studies in this field is a lepidopterist or, archaically, an aurelian.
William Schaus was an American entomologist who became known for his major contribution to the knowledge and description of new species of the Neotropical Lepidoptera.
The Global Lepidoptera Names Index (LepIndex) is a searchable database maintained by the Department of Entomology at the Natural History Museum, London.
Alexey Diakonoff full name Alexey Nikolaievich Diakonoff was a Russian entomologist who specialised in Microlepidoptera.
Eugene Gordon Munroe was a Canadian entomologist who discovered numerous species of insects. He worked for the Insect Systematics and Biological Control Unit, Entomology Division in Ottawa, Canada.
References
- ↑ Beccaloni, George; et al., eds. (February 2005). "Scientific name search". The Global Lepidoptera Names Index. Natural History Museum, London.[ failed verification ]
- ↑ A review of wing reduction in Lepidoptera
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