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Macromoth
Macrolepidoptera is a group within the insect order Lepidoptera. Traditionally used for the larger butterflies and moths as opposed to the "microlepidoptera", this group is artificial. However, it seems that by moving some taxa about, a monophyletic macrolepidoptera can be easily achieved. The two superfamilies Geometroidea and Noctuoidea account for roughly one-quarter of all known Lepidoptera. Taxonomy In the reformed macrolepidoptera, the following superfamilies are included: * Mimallonoidea – sack bearers * Lasiocampoidea – lappet moths * Bombycoidea – bombycoid moths * Noctuoidea – owlet moths * Drepanoidea – drepanids * Geometroidea – inchworms * Axioidea – European gold moths * Calliduloidea – Old World butterfly-moths * Hedyloidea – New World butterfly-moths (or moth-butterflies) * Papilionoidea – true butterflies The last two make up the Rhopalocera, or butterflies. More recent molecular studies have failed to recover the macrolepidoptera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grey Dagger
The grey dagger (''Acronicta psi'') is a moth of the family Noctuidae. Distribution This species can be found from Europe and North Africa to northern Iran, central Asia, southern and central Siberia and Mongolia. In the Levant it is found in Lebanon and Israel. Habitat These moths mainly inhabit deciduous forests, hedgerows, parks and gardens, at an elevation up to above sea level. Description ''Acronicta psi'' has a wingspan of . These moths have grey forewings with bold black dagger-shaped markings. (The Latin specific name also refers to these markings, as resembling the Greek letter , .) The hindwings are dirty grey, generally paler in the male. The moth is very similar to the dark dagger (''Acronicta tridens'') and identification is generally only possible by minute examination of the genitalia. See Townsend et al. However, in general this moth is generally darker in colour than the dark dagger and always lacks the white hindwings often present in the male of that spe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mimallonoidea
Mimallonidae Burmeister (mimallonids), sometimes known as "sack-bearer" moths for the larval case-building behavior, are a family of Lepidoptera containing over 300 named species in 43 genera. These moths are found only in the New World, with most taxa occurring in the Neotropics. Adult moths are externally similar to those belonging to some of the other Macroheterocera families Bombycoidea and Drepanoidea, and thus have been variously treated as belonging to either one of these or other superfamilies. Distribution Mimallonids are restricted to the New World, and are distributed in North America, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean (Cuba and The Bahamas). The vast majority of genera and species are found in the tropical regions of the New World, with only five described species from the United States. Biology Not much has been published on the natural history of adult Mimallonidae, though most species are thought to be nocturnal. At least three species have di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Macroheterocera
The Macroheterocera are a well supported clade of moths that are closely related to butterflies and other macro-moths. Taxonomy The Macroheterocera includes the following superfamilies: * Mimallonoidea – sack bearers (variously included in basal position or excluded) * Drepanoidea – drepanids * Noctuoidea – owlet moths * Geometroidea – inchworms * Lasiocampoidea – lappet moths * Bombycoidea – bombycoid moths The macroheteroceran superfamilies were previously place in the Macrolepidoptera, but recent molecular studies have failed to recover the Macrolepidoptera as a monophyletic group. The latter grouping also included true butterflies (Papilionoidea), New World butterfly-moths (Hedylidae Hedylidae, the "American moth-butterflies", is a family of insects in the order Lepidoptera, representing the superfamily Hedyloidea. They have traditionally been viewed as an extant sister group of the butterfly superfamily Papilionoidea. In 19 ...), and Old World butterfly-mot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhopalocera
Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises the large superfamily Papilionoidea, which contains at least one former group, the skippers (formerly the superfamily "Hesperioidea"), and the most recent analyses suggest it also contains the moth-butterflies (formerly the superfamily "Hedyloidea"). Butterfly fossils date to the Paleocene, about 56 million years ago. Butterflies have a four-stage life cycle, as like most insects they undergo complete metamorphosis. Winged adults lay eggs on the food plant on which their larvae, known as caterpillars, will feed. The caterpillars grow, sometimes very rapidly, and when fully developed, pupate in a chrysalis. When metamorphosis is complete, the pupal skin splits, the adult insect climbs out, and after its wings have expanded and dried, it fl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Papilionoidea
The superfamily Papilionoidea (from the genus '' Papilio'', meaning "butterfly") contains all the butterflies except for the moth-like Hedyloidea. The members of the Papilionoidea may be distinguished by the following combination of characters: *The body is smaller and less moth-like. *The wings are larger. *The antennae are straight and clubbed or hooked as in the skippers. *The caterpillars do not spin cocoons in which to pupate. *The pupae are angular rather than rounded. Recent phylogenetic analyses suggest the traditionally circumscribed Papilionoidea are a paraphyletic group, and that skippers (family Hesperiidae) and Neotropical moth-like butterflies (family Hedylidae) are true butterflies that should be included within the Papilionoidea superfamily to reflect cladistic relationships. Families of Papilionoidea The six well-supported families of Papilionoidea are: * Hesperiidae (skippers) * Swallowtails and birdwings, Papilionidae *Whites or yellow-whites, Pieridae *Blu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hedyloidea
Hedylidae, the "American moth-butterflies", is a family of insects in the order Lepidoptera, representing the superfamily Hedyloidea. They have traditionally been viewed as an extant sister group of the butterfly superfamily Papilionoidea. In 1986, Scoble combined all species into a single genus ''Macrosoma'', comprising 35 currently recognized and entirely Neotropical species, as a novel concept of butterflies. Taxonomy and systematics Hedylidae were previously treated as a tribe of Geometridae: Oenochrominae, the "Hedylicae". Prout considered they might even merit treatment as their own family. Scoble first considered them to be a hitherto unrecognised group of butterflies and also suggested Hedylidae might possibly constitute the sister group of the "true" butterflies (Papilionoidea), rather than of ( Hesperioidea + Papilionoidea). Weintraub and Miller argued against this placement (but see). In 1995, Weller and Pashley found that molecular data did indeed place Hedylidae with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Axioidea (Lepidoptera)
Drepanoidea is the superfamily of "hook tip moths". See Minet and Scoble (1999) for a comprehensive overview. References * Minet, J. and Scoble, M.J. (1999). The Drepanoid/Geometroid Assemblage. Ch. 17 in Kristensen, N.P. (Ed.). ''Lepidoptera, Moths and Butterflies''. Volume 1: Evolution, Systematics, and Biogeography. Handbuch der Zoologie. Eine Naturgeschichte der Stämme des Tierreiches / Handbook of Zoology. A Natural History of the phyla of the Animal Kingdom. Band / Volume IV Arthropoda: Insecta Teilband / Part 35: 491 pp. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, New York. Sources *''Firefly Encyclopedia of Insects and Spiders'', edited by Christopher O'Toole, , 2002 Lepidoptera superfamilies Macroheterocera {{moth-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drepanoidea
Drepanoidea is the superfamily of "hook tip moths". See Minet and Scoble (1999) for a comprehensive overview. References * Minet, J. and Scoble, M.J. (1999). The Drepanoid/Geometroid Assemblage. Ch. 17 in Kristensen, N.P. (Ed.). ''Lepidoptera, Moths and Butterflies''. Volume 1: Evolution, Systematics, and Biogeography. Handbuch der Zoologie. Eine Naturgeschichte der Stämme des Tierreiches / Handbook of Zoology. A Natural History of the phyla of the Animal Kingdom. Band / Volume IV Arthropoda: Insecta Teilband / Part 35: 491 pp. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, New York. Sources *''Firefly Encyclopedia of Insects and Spiders'', edited by Christopher O'Toole, , 2002 Lepidoptera superfamilies Macroheterocera {{moth-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bombycoidea
Bombycoidea is a superfamily of moths. It contains the silk moths, emperor moths, sphinx moths The Sphingidae are a family of moths ( Lepidoptera) called sphinx moths, also colloquially known as hawk moths, with many of their caterpillars known as “hornworms”; it includes about 1,450 species. It is best represented in the tropics, ..., and relatives. The Lasiocampoidea are close relatives and were historically sometimes merged in this group. After many years of debate and shifting taxonomies, the most recent classifications treat the superfamily as containing 10 constituent families. Their larvae often exhibit horns.''Firefly Encyclopedia of Insects and Spiders'', edited by Christopher O'Toole, , 2002 References Lepidoptera superfamilies Macroheterocera {{Bombycoidea-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lasiocampoidea
The Lasiocampidae are a family of moths also known as eggars, tent caterpillars, snout moths (although this also refers to the Pyralidae), or lappet moths. Over 2,000 species occur worldwide, and probably not all have been named or studied. It is the sole family in superfamily Lasiocampoidea. Etymology Their common name "snout moths" comes from the unique protruding mouth parts of some species which resemble a large nose. They are called " lappet moths" due to the decorative skin flaps found on the caterpillar's prolegs. The name "eggars" comes from the neat egg-shaped cocoons of some species. The scientific name is from the Greek ' (wooly) and ' (caterpillar). Description Caterpillars of this family are large and are most often hairy, especially on their sides. Most have skin flaps on their prolegs and a pair of dorsal glands on their abdomens. They feed on leaves of many different trees and shrubs, and often use these same plants to camouflage their cocoons. Some species ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Noctuoidea
Noctuoidea is the superfamily of noctuid (Latin "night owl") or "owlet" moths, and has more than 70,000 described species, the largest number of for any Lepidopteran superfamily. Its classification has not yet reached a satisfactory or stable state. Since the end of the 20th century, increasing availability of molecular phylogenetic data for this hugely successful radiation has led to several competing proposals for a taxonomic arrangement that correctly represents the relationships between the major lineages. Briefly, the disputes center on the fact that in old treatments (which were just as unable to reach a general consensus) the distinctness of some groups, such as the Arctiidae or Lymantriidae, was overrated due to their characteristic appearance, while some less-studied lineages conventionally held to be Noctuidae are in fact quite distinct. This requires a rearrangement at least of the latter family (by simply including anything disputed within it). This is quite unwieldy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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