Order Lepidoptera

Butterflies and Mothsppt by Dr. J. Snyder, Professor Emeritus, Furman University

Among our best known insects

• Some are large, showy, not hiding• Some are agriculturally important: either as

eaters of our food or as pollinators

Evolutionary Placement

• Panorpoida = those with sucking mouth parts (not biting)

• Two closely related orders within Panorpoida: Trichoptera and Lepidoptera

Trichoptera, Lepidoptera

Among their closest relatives, these two are the ones with sucking mouth parts, not biting mouthparts

Brief look at Trichoptera

• Common English name = caddisflies• Exclusively aquatic as larvae• Larvae build a protective case of pebbles, etc.

Fossil evidence of Lepidoptera

• Embedded in rock or amber • Best guess now = first ones around 40 to 50

million years ago

Characters of the Lepidoptera

• Name: “wings covered by scales”• Almost microscopically small objects, in layers

like shingles on roof

Have “complete” life cycle

• Egg to larva (“caterpillar”) to pupa to adult• Holometabolous = a sign of advanced

evolution • Most busy at eating host plant = caterpillar

stage• Pupa: radical re-molding of body• Adult’s only function = reproduction– Typical adult lifetime = a week or two

Okay, what’s the difference?

• Between butterfly and moth adults, that is– Antennae: best thing to differentiate– Day-flying vs. nocturnal– Thickness of body– Drab vs. brightly colored wings

• BUT, exceptions to all of these:

Antennae: usually works

• Club at end, or hook at end, or anything else Butterfly Skipper Moth

Day-flying moths

Thickness of body

Moth Moth Butterfly Skipper

Drab vs. Bright

All of these are moths

And these drab insects are butterflies or skippers

So, don’t separate moths from others

• Checklists of Lepidoptera place skippers and true butterflies in middle of the list

Number of species

• Moths far out-number others• Worldwide numbers (known species): about 150,000

total (20,000 are butterflies, skippers)• North America: ~11,000 total (~750 non-moths)

Placing a critter within its proper family

• Look at many close details– Proboscis: present or absent– Shape and position of antennae– Pattern of wing veins– Wing shape– Etc.

After awhile, recognize by sight

Usually works, not always. Some real foolers.

Identifying one species from a closely related other one

• Might come down to shape of genitalia• Coming along as a tool: DNA analysis

Most common non-moth families

• Hesperiidae: the skippers. – Perhaps hardest to identify at species level– Usually have those hooked antennae– Usually drab brown, small to medium wingspan– ~290 North American species

Papilionidae

• In eastern North America, all have “swallow tails” on hind wings, pretty large wingspan

• 33 species in North America

Pieridae

• Yellow or white wings, small to medium wingspan

• ~60 species in North America

Lycaenidae

• Blues, Coppers, and Hairstreaks• Small wingspan• ~135 North American species

Nymphalidae

• Large, diverse family: ~200 N.A. species• Called “brushfoot” butterflies: 4 walking legs,

front two legs are “brush feet—not walking. Used to “taste-test” plants

• Small to large wingspan

Some local Nymphalids

A famous Nymphalid: the Monarch

A word of warning

Some experts pull out a number of Nymphalids, give them their own families (“splitters”)

Now, the moth families

• Perhaps as many as 63 families, or more, or less

• Some moths as small as mosquitoes, others are the largest of all Lepidoptera

• Number of South Carolina documented species = more than 1,888 (still counting!)

Just the most prominent or largest moth families

• Family Sesiidae: pretending to be stingers

Family Limacodidae

• Caterpillars can irritate skin if touched

Families Crambidae and Pyralidae

• Formerly lumped as Pyralidae• Large family: ~1400 N. A. species• Small adults, many shapes and colors

Family Geometridae

• The “inchworm” moths• Over 1400 N. A. species: very diverse• Very small to medium wingspan

Family Saturniidae

• Small group (~65 N. A species), but very prominent

• The “silkworm” moths—make big cocoon

Family Sphingidae

• Sphinx moths or hawk moths• Large wingspan, wide and narrow• ~125 N. A. species

Remember this slide? Sphingids

Family Noctuidae

• Largest Lepidopteran family: ~3400 N. A. species

• Extremely diverse size, shape, colors• Very small to large wingspan• Now includes two previously separate

families: Notodontidae and Arctiidae

Just a few Noctuids

Arctiinae: previously a separate family (Arctiidae): typically brightly

colored