Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises the large superfamily Papilionoidea, which contains at least one former group, the skippers, and the most recent analyses suggest it also contains the moth-butterflies. Butterfly fossils date to the Paleocene, which was about 56 million years ago.
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.
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon.
The morpho butterflies comprise many species of Neotropical butterfly under the genus Morpho. This genus includes over 29 accepted species and 147 accepted subspecies, found mostly in South America, Mexico, and Central America. Morpho wingspans range from 7.5 cm (3.0 in) for M. rhodopteron to 20 cm (7.9 in) for M. hecuba, the imposing sunset morpho. The name morpho, meaning "changed" or "modified", is also an epithet.
Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful butterflies in the family Papilionidae, and include over 550 species. Though the majority are tropical, members of the family inhabit every continent except Antarctica. The family includes the largest butterflies in the world, the birdwing butterflies of the genus Ornithoptera.
The superfamily Papilionoidea contains all the butterflies except for the moth-like Hedyloidea.
Lycaenidae is the second-largest family of butterflies, with over 6,000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies. They constitute about 30% of the known butterfly species.
The Heliconiinae, commonly called heliconians or longwings, are a subfamily of the brush-footed butterflies. They can be divided into 45–50 genera and were sometimes treated as a separate family Heliconiidae within the Papilionoidea. The colouration is predominantly reddish and black, and though of varying wing shape, the forewings are always elongated tipwards, hence the common name.
The Nymphalinae are a subfamily of brush-footed butterflies. Sometimes, the subfamilies Limenitidinae, and Biblidinae are included here as subordinate tribe(s), while the tribe Melitaeini is occasionally regarded as a distinct subfamily.
The Satyrinae, the satyrines or satyrids, commonly known as the browns, are a subfamily of the Nymphalidae. They were formerly considered a distinct family, Satyridae. This group contains nearly half of the known diversity of brush-footed butterflies. The true number of the Satyrinae species is estimated to exceed 2400.
Arthur Gardiner Butler was an English entomologist, arachnologist and ornithologist. He worked at the British Museum working on the taxonomy of birds, insects, and spiders.
Parnassius is a genus of northern circumpolar and montane butterflies usually known as Apollos or snow Apollos. They can vary in colour and form significantly based on their altitude. They also show an adaptation to high altitudes called altitudinal melanism. They show dark bodies and darkened colouration at the wingbase which helps them warm faster using the sun.
Polyommatinae, the blues, are a subfamily of gossamer-winged butterflies (Lycaenidae). It was long used to assign taxa of unclear relationships, and its contents are in need of revision. Several genera might not even belong here.
Robert Herbert Carcasson was an English entomologist who specialised in butterflies. He was director of the Natural History Museum in Nairobi from 1961 to 1968.
Caesioperca is a genus of ray-finned fish in the sub-family Anthiadinae in the sea bass family Serranidae. It contains just two species, found in the ocean off Southern Australia and New Zealand.
Alphatetraviridae is a family of viruses. Moths and butterflies serve as natural hosts. There are currently ten species in this family, divided among 2 genera. Infection outcome varies from unapparent to lethal.
Menzbieria is a genus of parasitic alveolates of the phylum Apicomplexa.
