Butterflies
Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Butterflies (pronunciation: /ˈbʌtəflaɪz/; etymology: from Old English buttorfleoge, literally "butterfly") are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths.
Description
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 (formerly the superfamily "Hesperioidea"), and the most recent analyses suggest it also contains the moth-butterflies (formerly the superfamily "Hedyloidea").
Life Cycle
Butterfly fossils date to the Paleocene, which was about 56 million years ago. Butterflies have the typical four-stage insect life cycle. Winged adults lay eggs on the food plant on which their larvae, known as caterpillars, will feed. The caterpillars grow, sometimes very rapidly, and when fully developed, pupate in a chrysalis. When metamorphosis is complete, the pupal skin splits, the adult insect climbs out, and after its wings have expanded and dried, it flies off.
Classification
Butterflies are classified in the following families within the superfamily Papilionoidea:
- Hesperiidae (skippers)
- Lycaenidae (coppers, blues, and hairstreaks)
- Nymphalidae (brush-footed butterflies)
- Pieridae (whites and sulphurs)
- Papilionidae (swallowtails and birdwings)
- Riodinidae (metalmarks)
Related Terms
- Lepidoptera: The order of insects that includes butterflies and moths.
- Moth: A type of insect closely related to the butterfly, also in the order Lepidoptera.
- Caterpillar: The larval stage of a butterfly or moth, after it hatches from the egg and before it becomes a pupa.
- Chrysalis: The pupal stage of butterflies.
- Metamorphosis: The process of transformation from an immature form to an adult form in two or more distinct stages.
- Papilionoidea: The superfamily that contains all the families of butterflies.
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Butterflies
- Wikipedia's article - Butterflies
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