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The butterflies form the clade Rhopalocera, which is composed of three superfamilies: Hedyloidea (the moth butterfly family Hedylidae), the Hesperioidea (the skipper family Hesperiidae), and the Papilionoidea (the true butterfly families Papilionidae, Pieridae, Nymphalidae, Lycaenidae, and Riodinidae). All of these families are monophyletic.
Butterflies evolved from moths, so while the butterflies are monophyletic (forming a single clade), the moths are not. The oldest known butterfly is Protocoeliades kristenseni from the Palaeocene aged Fur Formation of Denmark, approximately 55 million years old, which belongs to the family Hesperiidae (skippers). [ 9 ]
They evolved about the time that flowering plants underwent an expansive adaptive radiation in the mid-Cretaceous, and the Gelechioidea that evolved at this time also have great diversity. Whether the processes involved co-evolution or sequential evolution, the diversity of the Lepidoptera and the angiosperms increased together.
Lepidoptera (/ ˌ l ɛ p ɪ ˈ d ɒ p t ər ə / LEP-ih-DOP-tər-ə) or lepidopterans is an order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths.About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organisms, [1] [2] making it the second largest insect order (behind Coleoptera) with 126 families [3] and 46 superfamilies ...
Close-up of a Caligo wing. The underwing pattern is highly cryptic.It is conceivable that the eye pattern is a generalized form of mimicry.It is known that many small animals hesitate to go near patterns resembling eyes with a light-colored iris and a large pupil, which matches the appearance of the eyes of many predators that hunt by sight.
Batesian mimicry is a form of mimicry where a harmless species has evolved to imitate the warning signals of a harmful species directed at a predator of them both. It is named after the English naturalist Henry Walter Bates , who worked on butterflies in the rainforests of Brazil.
A Lepidoptera specimen drawer in a museum collection in Poland Another Lepidoptera specimen drawer in a museum collection in Poland. Lepidopterology (from Ancient Greek λεπίδος (lepídos) ' scale ' πτερόν (pterón) ' wing ' and -λογία [1]) is a branch of entomology concerning the scientific study of moths and the two superfamilies of butterflies.
The body is small compared to the wings. The upper side of the wings is reddish brown with a pattern of black, white, pink, and purple lines. There are triangular, scale-less windows bordered in black on each of the four wings. The undersides of the wings are paler. The tips of both forewings have prominent extensions that resemble the head of ...