Lepidoptera: What are, characteristics and examples

Lepidoptera are an order of animals that are insects and arthropodsto those who belong day butterflies and night moths. Here you can know the differences between daytime and nocturnal butterflies.

Have Very particular characteristics with which we can identify them and that we will explain in this article. In addition, if you want to know the groups better to which lepidoptera, insects and arthropods belong, we encourage you to read about flying insects: types and names and what arthropods are: characteristics, classification and examples.

• This order is characterized by having Two wings pairs covered by color tiny scalesand from this characteristic comes the name lepidoptera that in Greek means schemeful. This coloration serves to attract couple, to camouflage themselves with their surroundings and go unnoticed, mimicize to look something else, or to alert their predators.
• The habits and the way of folding the wings are useful to determine whether it is a butterfly or a moth. Diurnal lepidoptera, butterflieskeep the resting wings at rest. On the contrary, Night lepidoptera, mothsthey are the ones with their most activity at night and maintain Open wings during rest.
• Most have a rolled proboscis or firitrompa which serves as a cane to suck liquids that support its diet, such as nectar, fruit or even bodies. When we perch to libar from flower in flower in search of nectar They help pollinizehaving a key role within ecosystems. Here you can read about pollinating insects: what are and their importance.
• The body is divided into three regions: Head, thorax and abdomen.
• Have 3 pairs of articulated legs In several fragments.
• On the head they have Two antennas of sensory function that help them obtain information from their surroundings.
• Have big eyes and are compoundsthat is, they are formed by many units that form a single image.

The life cycle of lepidoptera is holometbolus, which means that they go through a considerable transformation to be adults. The phases that compose it are:

1. Egg: With this unit that is the result of fertilization, the life cycle begins. Here the embryonic development occurs and the embryo has how much it needs to complete this process. Normally the eggs are placed on the leaves of which the next phase will be feed, so that Echesione can start eating.
2. Larva or caterpillar: Lepidoptera larvae are the active feeding phase before entering isolation, so this is its main activity. They are very specific in the plants they feed on, almost always delimited to a single plant species. They have a chewing mouthpiece to cut the leaves. In this form of larva you can see the famous walk collecting the body in the form of accordion and this is thanks to 5 false legs that have at the end of the abdomen. It lacks wings, but within the body are small structures that will later be the wings.
3. Pupa or chrysalis: It is the isolation phase in which the larva will be locked without eating. He will choose an apt place to weave his chrysalis and lock himself where the metamorphosis will pass to emerge as a completely different insect from the initial during the final phase. All the energy it kept during the Larva phase will be used to survive during the isolation and transformation time.
4. Adult or imago: After the chrysálida time the cocoon will open from inside out to emerge a winged adult. Now this will have a firithrompa -shaped oral apparatus, unlike the larva. In this phase they can be reproduced to start again at the beginning of the egg.

We encourage you to read this other post about the life cycle of a butterfly: stages and images.

• Silk butterfly (Bombyx Mori): It is white, with a grid body and measures 4 to 6 centimeters long. It is originally from China and has been raised to produce the famous silk threads, which are obtained from the cocoon.
• Cleopatra (GONEPTERYX Cleopatra): It is yellow and on the back wings it has two orange dots. The reverse of the wings is slightly clearer, almost white, and this color is observed when it is at rest. It is very common in the Mediterranean, especially near the coast and where there are not many trees.
• Piérido Tigre (DESMORPHIA AMPHIONE): The body is thin and elongated, and the wings have yellow and orange patterns delimited by black, so that they give an aposine alert signal to their predators and warn them of their bad taste. It is very common from Mexico to South America.
• Hesperoido de la Guayaba (PHOCIDES POLYBIUS): It is black, with the margin of the white wings and with orange dots on the front wings. He lives in America and is peculiar because the caterpillars feed on the rolled leaves of guayabos.
• Polyphemus (Antheraea polyphemus): It is brown with pink, white and black ornamentations with which they form eyes to scare away their predators. It is originally from North America.

Now that you know better what lepidoptera, their characteristics and examples are, here you can read about the types of butterflies and the types of moths.

If you want to read more articles similar to Lepidoptera: What are, characteristics and exampleswe recommend that you enter our biology category.