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![]() ![]() Metamorphoses: complete North American Families: 75 North American Species: Over 11 000 species |
Lepidoptera
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Description: Four large membranous wings covered with scales give Lepidoptera their colour and pattern. The adults of butterflies and moths have sucking mouth parts and have a well developed proboscis for drinking nectar or fermenting tree sap. The larvae, called caterpillars, have chewing mouthparts with well developed mandibles. The antennae of butterflies are knobbed at the end, and those of moths are variable but rarely knobbed. When they are at rest, the butterflies hold their wings together vertically over the thorax while the moths hold their wings rooflike over the body. The larvae are usually worm-like with three pairs of jointed legs on the front part of the body and usually five pairs of softer and thicker unjointed legs or prolegs on the middle and hind part of the body. |
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Comments: The larvae have well developed silk glands in the head, and they use this silk to make shelters and to spin a cocoon around themselves. In most butterflies the larvae hang themselves up in the open and turn into a pupa. The caterpillars of moths spin a cocoon underground, among litter on the ground or sometimes on a tree. The butterflies are active during the day while most moths are nocturnal. | |||
Families in this Order |
![]() Arctiidae: Tiger moths and wasp moths Size: 12 to 70 mm |
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![]() Geometridae: Inchworms and geometer moths Size: 10 to 60 mm |
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![]() Hesperiidae: Skippers Size: 14 to 50 mm |
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![]() Lasiocampidae: Tent caterpillars and lappet moths Size: 25 to 58 mm |
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![]() Lycaenidae: Coppers, hairstreaks, blues and harvesters. Size: 11 to 47 mm |
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![]() Lymantriidae: Tussock moths Size: 15 to 67 mm |
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![]() Noctuidae: Noctuid moths Size: 12 to 170 mm |
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![]() Nymphalidae: Brush-footed butterflies Size: 24 to 100 mm |
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![]() Papilionidae: Parnassians and swallowtails Size: 60 to 150 mm |
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![]() Pieridae: Whites, sulphurs, and orange tips Size: 22 to 70 mm |
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![]() Pterophoridae: Plume moths Size: 13 to 41 mm |
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![]() Pyralidae: Snout and grass moths Size: 9 to 37 mm |
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![]() Saturniidae: Giant silkworm moths and royal moths Size: 30 to 150 mm |
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![]() Sesiidae: Clearwing moths Size: 14 to 46 mm |
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![]() Sphingidae: Sphinx moths or hornworms Size: 32 to 155 mm |
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![]() Tineidae: Clothes moths Size: 10 to 30 mm |
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![]() Tortricidae: Tortricid moths Size: 8 to 35 mm |
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