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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, which was about 56 million years ago.
Butterflies have the typical four-stage insect life cycle. 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 flies off. Some butterflies,
especially in the tropics, have several generations in a year, while others have a single generation,
and a few in cold locations may take several years to pass through their entire life cycle.
Butterflies are often polymorphic, and many species make use
of camouflage, mimicry and aposematism to evade their predators. Some, like the monarch and
the painted lady, migrate over long distances. Many butterflies are attacked
by parasites or parasitoids, including wasps, protozoans, flies, and other invertebrates, or are preyed
upon by other organisms. Some species are pests because in their larval stages they can damage
domestic crops or trees; other species are agents of pollination of some plants. Larvae of a few
butterflies (e.g., harvesters) eat harmful insects, and a few are predators of ants, while others live
as mutualists in association with ants. Culturally, butterflies are a popular motif in the visual and
literary arts.

Contents

 1Etymology

 2Taxonomy and phylogeny

 3Biology

o 3.1General description

o 3.2Distribution and migration

o 3.3Life cycle

 3.3.1Egg

 3.3.2Caterpillar larva

 3.3.3Pupa

 3.3.4Adult

o 3.4Behaviour

o 3.5Ecology
  3.5.1Parasitoids, predators, and pathogens

 3.5.2Endangered Species

 3.5.3Defences

 4In culture

o 4.1In art and literature

o 4.2In mythology and folklore

o 4.3Collecting, recording, and rearing

o 4.4In technology

 5References

 6External links

o 6.1Regional lists

Etymology

The original "butter-fly"?[1] A male brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni) in flight

The Oxford English Dictionary derives the word straightforwardly from Old English butorflēoge,
butter-fly; similar names in Old Dutch and Old High German show that the name is ancient. A
possible source of the name is the bright yellow male of the brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni); another
is that butterflies were on the wing in meadows during the spring and summer butter season while
the grass was growing.[1][2]

Taxonomy and phylogeny

Further information: Prehistoric Lepidoptera
Prodryas persephone, a Late Eocene butterfly from the Florissant Fossil Beds, 1887 engraving

Lithopsyche antiqua, an Early Oligocene butterfly from the Bembridge Marls, Isle of Wight, 1889 engraving

The earliest Lepidoptera fossils are of a small moth, Archaeolepis mane, of Jurassic age, around
190 million years ago (mya).[3][4] Butterflies evolved from moths, so while the butterflies
are monophyletic (forming a single clade), the moths are not. The oldest butterflies are from
the Palaeocene MoClay or Fur Formation of Denmark, approximately 55 million years old. The
oldest American butterfly is the Late EoceneProdryas persephone from the Florissant Fossil Beds,[5]
[6]
approximately 34 million years old.[7]
Traditionally, the butterflies have been divided into the superfamily Papilionoidea excluding the
smaller groups of the Hesperiidae (skippers) and the more moth-like Hedylidae of
America. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that the traditional Papilionoidea is paraphyletic with
respect to the other two groups, so they should both be included within Papilionoidea, to form a
single butterfly group, thereby synonymous with the clade Rhopalocera.[8][9]

Butterfly families

Family Common name Characteristics Image

American moth- Small, brown, like geometrid moths;

Hedylidae
butterflies antennae not clubbed; long slim abdomen

Small, darting flight; clubs on antennae

Hesperiidae Skippers
hooked backwards
 Small, brightly coloured; often have false
Blues, coppers,
Lycaenidae heads with eyespots and small tails
hairstreaks
resembling antennae

Brush-footed or
Usually have reduced forelegs, so appear
Nymphalidae four-footed
four-legged; often brightly coloured
butterflies

Often have 'tails' on wings; caterpillar

Papilionidae Swallowtails generates foul taste with osmeteriumorgan;
pupa supported by silk girdle

Mostly white, yellow or orange; some

Pieridae Whites and allies serious pests of Brassica; pupa supported
by silk girdle

Often have metallic spots on wings; often

Riodinidae Metalmarks conspicuously coloured with black, orange
and blue