Butterfly
Lepidoptera
Image: Alejandro Santillana / © Copyrighted
More about Butterflies
The insect order Lepidoptera includes both butterflies and moths, we group them both under the name "butterfly". Caterpillars nearly all feed on plants and the adults sometimes drink nectar from flowers with their long straw-like mouth parts. There are approaching 200,000 species of Lepidoptera and the vast majority of them are moths.
Long antennae. Butterfly antennae are narrow and clubbed at the end and many moths have long feathered antennae
Image: Benny Mazur / CC BY 2.0
Wings and body are covered in powdery scales. Lepidoptera means “scale wing”.
Skippers are small butterflies which hold their wings in a double V shape
Some moths are active in the day and can be convincing mimics of wasps and bees
Image: Joe Mdo / CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Many small moths are long and tubular shaped
Image: Andy Reago / CC BY 2.0
