What does Lepidoptera mean?
The order Lepidoptera includes butterflies and moths .The wings of these insects are covered with tiny scales. That is where the name comes from; it means "scaled wing" in ancient Greek .The order has more than 180,000 species in 128 families and 47 super families. All Lepidoptera are holometabola which means they go through a complete metamorphosis. This metamorphosis is divided into four life stages which include embryo, larvae, pupa, and an imago which refers to the adult stage at which point the insect can reproduce.

What does Papilionoidea mean? 
This refers to the super family of butterflies. In some older classifications another super family, Hesperioidea (the Skippers) were regarded as butterflies, but today they are excluded because of their closer resemblance to Moths.

What are Papilionidae, Pieridae, Nymphalidae and Lycaenidae?
These are the names of the four butterfly families that together make up Papilionoidea, the super family of butterflies. You may see other classifications where Nymphalidae (Brushfoots) are concerned; they are often divided into Satyridae, Danainae, Nymphalidae and Libytheidae. Many regard them as one family as they have one dominant characteristic in common: they have only 4 of 6 functional legs; their first pair of legs are not utilized .Papilionidae (Swallowtails) represent a great variety of colour, shape and size. They are often recognized by their tails. Pieridae (Whites, Sulphurs and Yellows) do not have tails. They are a widespread group often found at ecological and geographical extremes of nature. Some species migrate. Lycaenidae (Hairstreaks, Coppers and Blues) are a large family of small butterflies which generally live locally.

<<Back Next>>