Transcript Order Lepidoptera - eweb.furman.edu

Order Lepidoptera
Butterflies and Moths
ppt by Dr. J. Snyder, Professor Emeritus, Furman University
Among our best known insects
• Some are large, showy, not hiding
• Some are agriculturally important: either as
eaters of our food or as pollinators
Evolutionary Placement
• Panorpoida = those with sucking mouth parts
(not biting)
• Two closely related orders within Panorpoida:
Trichoptera and Lepidoptera
Trichoptera, Lepidoptera
Among their closest relatives, these two are the
ones with sucking mouth parts, not biting
mouthparts
Brief look at Trichoptera
• Common English name = caddisflies
• Exclusively aquatic as larvae
• Larvae build a protective case of pebbles, etc.
Fossil evidence of Lepidoptera
• Embedded in rock or amber
• Best guess now = first ones around 40 to 50
million years ago
Characters of the Lepidoptera
• Name: “wings covered by scales”
• Almost microscopically small objects, in layers
like shingles on roof
Have “complete” life cycle
• Egg to larva (“caterpillar”) to pupa to adult
• Holometabolous = a sign of advanced
evolution
• Most busy at eating host plant = caterpillar
stage
• Pupa: radical re-molding of body
• Adult’s only function = reproduction
– Typical adult lifetime = a week or two
Okay, what’s the difference?
• Between butterfly and moth adults, that is
– Antennae: best thing to differentiate
– Day-flying vs. nocturnal
– Thickness of body
– Drab vs. brightly colored wings
• BUT, exceptions to all of these:
Antennae: usually works
• Club at end, or hook at end, or anything else
Butterfly
Skipper
Moth
Day-flying moths
Thickness of body
Moth
Moth
Butterfly
Skipper
Drab vs. Bright
All of these are moths
And these drab insects are butterflies or skippers
So, don’t separate moths from others
• Checklists of Lepidoptera place skippers and
true butterflies in middle of the list
Number of species
• Moths far out-number others
• Worldwide numbers (known species): about 150,000
total (20,000 are butterflies, skippers)
• North America: ~11,000 total (~750 non-moths)
Placing a critter within its proper
family
• Look at many close details
– Proboscis: present or absent
– Shape and position of antennae
– Pattern of wing veins
– Wing shape
– Etc.
After awhile, recognize by sight
Usually works, not always. Some real foolers.
Identifying one species from a
closely related other one
• Might come down to shape of genitalia
• Coming along as a tool: DNA analysis
Most common non-moth families
• Hesperiidae: the skippers.
– Perhaps hardest to identify at species level
– Usually have those hooked antennae
– Usually drab brown, small to medium wingspan
– ~290 North American species
Papilionidae
• In eastern North America, all have “swallow
tails” on hind wings, pretty large wingspan
• 33 species in North America
Pieridae
• Yellow or white wings, small to medium
wingspan
• ~60 species in North America
Lycaenidae
• Blues, Coppers, and Hairstreaks
• Small wingspan
• ~135 North American species
Nymphalidae
• Large, diverse family: ~200 N.A. species
• Called “brushfoot” butterflies: 4 walking legs,
front two legs are “brush feet—not walking.
Used to “taste-test” plants
• Small to large wingspan
Some local Nymphalids
A famous Nymphalid: the Monarch
A word of warning
Some experts pull out a number of Nymphalids,
give them their own families (“splitters”)
Now, the moth families
• Perhaps as many as 63 families, or more, or
less
• Some moths as small as mosquitoes, others
are the largest of all Lepidoptera
• Number of South Carolina documented
species = more than 1,888 (still counting!)
Just the most prominent or largest
moth families
• Family Sesiidae: pretending to be stingers
Family Limacodidae
• Caterpillars can irritate skin if touched
Families Crambidae and Pyralidae
• Formerly lumped as Pyralidae
• Large family: ~1400 N. A. species
• Small adults, many shapes and colors
Family Geometridae
• The “inchworm” moths
• Over 1400 N. A. species: very diverse
• Very small to medium wingspan
Family Saturniidae
• Small group (~65 N. A species), but very
prominent
• The “silkworm” moths—make big cocoon
Family Sphingidae
• Sphinx moths or hawk moths
• Large wingspan, wide and narrow
• ~125 N. A. species
Remember this slide? Sphingids
Family Noctuidae
• Largest Lepidopteran family: ~3400 N. A.
species
• Extremely diverse size, shape, colors
• Very small to large wingspan
• Now includes two previously separate
families: Notodontidae and Arctiidae
Just a few Noctuids
Arctiinae: previously a separate
family (Arctiidae): typically brightly
colored