Merajul Islam at 10:53, 10 January 2022

2022-01-10T10:53:00Z

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{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{Short description|Order of insects including moths and butterflies}}
{{good article}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = [[Early Jurassic]]–[[Holocene|Present]], {{fossilrange|200|0}}
| image = Peacock butterfly (Aglais io) 2.jpg
| image_caption = Peacock butterfly (''[[Aglais io]]'')
| image2 = Sphinx moth (Adhemarius gannascus).jpg
| image2_caption = ''[[Adhemarius gannascus]]'', a species of [[sphinx moth]]
| taxon = Lepidoptera
| authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]]
| subdivision_ranks = Suborders
| subdivision = [[Aglossata]]<br/>
[[Glossata]]<br/>
[[Heterobathmiina]]<br/>
[[Zeugloptera]]
}}

'''Lepidoptera''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|l|ɛ|p|ə|ˈ|d|ɒ|p|t|ər|ə}} {{respell|lep|ə|DOP|tər|ə}}; {{etymology|grc|''[[wikt:λεπίδος|λεπίδος]]'' (lepídos)|[[scale (insect anatomy)|scale]]||''[[wikt:πτερά|πτερά]]'' (pterá)|wings}}) is an [[order (biology)|order]] of [[insect]]s that includes [[butterfly|butterflies]] and [[moth]]s (both are called '''lepidopterans'''). About 180,000 [[species]] of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 [[Family (biology)|families]]<ref name="Capinera">{{Cite book |last=Capinera |first=John L. |title=Encyclopedia of Entomology |publisher=[[Springer Science+Business Media|Springer]] |year=2008 |edition=2nd |volume=4 |pages=626–672 |chapter=Butterflies and moths |isbn=9781402062421 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i9ITMiiohVQC |access-date=22 September 2016 |archive-date=24 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624051424/https://books.google.com/books?id=i9ITMiiohVQC |url-status=live }}</ref> and 46 [[Taxonomic rank|superfamilies]],<ref name="Taxome1"/> 10 percent of the total described species of living organisms.<ref name="Taxome1">{{cite web |url=http://www.ucl.ac.uk/taxome/lepnos.html |title=Taxonomy of Lepidoptera: the scale of the problem |author=Mallet, Jim |date=12 June 2007 |work=The Lepidoptera Taxome Project |publisher=University College, London |access-date=8 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605000548/http://www.ucl.ac.uk/taxome/lepnos.html |archive-date=5 June 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Lepidoptera Taxome Project | publisher = Lepidoptera Taxome Project | url = http://www.ucl.ac.uk/taxome/ | access-date = 25 February 2015 | archive-url = https://www.webcitation.org/611vJddSy?url=http://www.ucl.ac.uk/taxome/ | archive-date = 18 August 2011 | url-status = live }}</ref> It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world.<ref name="Resh & Carde">{{cite book|last1=Powell |first1=Jerry A. |editor2-last=Cardé|editor2-first=Ring T.|editor1-first=Vincent H. |editor1-last=Resh |title=Encyclopedia of Insects |edition=2 (illustrated) |pages=557–587|year=2009 |publisher=Academic Press |isbn=978-0-12-374144-8 |chapter=Lepidoptera}}</ref> The Lepidoptera show many variations of the basic body structure that have evolved to gain advantages in lifestyle and distribution. Recent estimates suggest the order may have more species than earlier thought,<ref name="Inventory">{{cite book |editor1=Z.-Q. Zhang |editor2=W. A. Shear |year=2007 |title=Linnaeus Tercentenary: Progress in Invertebrate Taxonomy (Zootaxa:1668) |publisher=Magnolia Press |isbn=978-0-12-690647-9 |chapter-url=http://www.lepidoptera.ee/images/lingid/Zootaxa1668p699.pdf |access-date=2 March 2010 |last1=Kristensen |first1=Niels P. |last2=Scoble |first2=M. J. |last3=Karsholt |first3=Ole |chapter=Lepidoptera phylogeny and systematics: the state of inventorying moth and butterfly diversity |pages=699–747 |archive-date=15 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515015416/http://www.lepidoptera.ee/images/lingid/Zootaxa1668p699.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> and is among the four most [[wikt:speciose|speciose]] orders, along with the [[Hymenoptera]], [[fly|Diptera]], and [[beetle|Coleoptera]].<ref name="Resh & Carde"/>

Lepidopteran species are characterized by more than three derived features. The most apparent is the presence of [[scale (anatomy)|scale]]s that cover the [[torso|bodies]], [[wings]], and a [[proboscis]]. The scales are modified, flattened "hairs", and give butterflies and moths their wide variety of colors and patterns. Almost all species have some form of membranous wings, except for a few that have reduced wings or are wingless. [[Mating]] and the laying of eggs are carried out by adults, normally near or on host plants for the [[larvae]]. Like most other insects, butterflies and moths are [[holometabolous]], meaning they undergo [[Holometabolism|complete metamorphosis]]. The larvae are commonly called [[caterpillar]]s, and are completely different from their adult moth or butterfly forms, having a cylindrical body with a well-developed head, mandible mouth parts, three pairs of thoracic legs and from none up to five pairs of [[proleg]]s. As they grow, these larvae change in appearance, going through a series of stages called [[instar]]s. Once fully matured, the larva develops into a [[pupa]]. A few butterflies and many moth species spin a silk case or [[cocoon (silk)|cocoon]] prior to pupating, while others do not, instead going underground.<ref name="Resh & Carde"/> A butterfly pupa, called a [[chrysalis]], has a hard skin, usually with no cocoon. Once the pupa has completed its metamorphosis, a sexually mature adult emerges.

The Lepidoptera have, over millions of years, evolved a wide range of wing patterns and coloration ranging from drab moths akin to the related order [[Trichoptera]], to the brightly colored and complex-patterned butterflies.<ref name="Capinera"/> Accordingly, this is the most recognized and popular of insect orders with many people involved in the observation, study, collection, rearing of, and commerce in these insects. A person who collects or studies this order is referred to as a [[lepidopterist]].

Butterflies and moths play an important role in the natural ecosystem as [[pollination|pollinator]]s and as food in the food chain; conversely, their larvae are considered very problematic to vegetation in agriculture, as their main source of food is often live plant matter. In many species, the female may produce from 200 to 600 eggs, while in others, the number may approach 30,000 eggs in one day. The caterpillars hatching from these eggs can cause damage to large quantities of crops. Many moth and butterfly species are of economic interest by virtue of their role as pollinators, the [[silk]] they produce, or as [[pest (organism)|pest]] species.

Lepidoptera - Revision history

Merajul Islam at 10:53, 10 January 2022