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Home - Species - Concepts - The extended family | Animals | Insects | Butterflies and moths
What are they?
Butterflies and moths (Order: Lepidoptera) are perhaps the most popular group of insects due to the beauty of their forms and colors. The name is derived from the Greek lepidos, meaning scales, and pteron, wings, i.e., “wings with scales”.
They are divided into four groups (suborders): mandibulate moths (Zeugloptera), kauri moths (Aglossata), metallic moths (Heterobathmiina) and Glossata. The first three suborders consist of few species, but the final suborder includes the great majority of butterflies and moths.
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How many?
There are approximately 150,000 species of butterflies and moths in the world, of which about 18,000 species are butterflies, i.e., 13% (Heppner, 2002). In Mexico, there are approximately 1,800 species of butterflies, representing about 10% of the worldwide total (Llorente et al. 1996). |
Where do they live?
Most butterflies and moths are free flying and commonly found among vegetation. They live on every continent except Antarctica. Although they are much more numerous and diverse in the tropics, some species survive on the edge of polar vegetation. There are many successful species in nearly all types of environments, from deserts and mountain tops to the swamps and jungles.
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