Butterfly

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For other uses, see Butterfly (disambiguation).

Butterflies
Charaxes brutus natalensis in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
(unranked):	Rhopalocera
Subgroups
Superfamily Hedyloidea: Hedylidae Superfamily Hesperioidea: Hesperiidae Superfamily Papilionoidea: Papilionidae Pieridae Nymphalidae Lycaenidae Riodinidae

Spider lily and butterfly Papilio xuthus Linnaeus 1767

A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts, egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. Butterflies comprise the true butterflies (superfamily Papilionoidea), the skippers (superfamily Hesperioidea) and the moth-butterflies (superfamily Hedyloidea). All the many other families within the Lepidoptera are referred to as moths.
Butterflies exhibit polymorphism, mimicry and aposematism. Some, like the Monarch, will migrate over long distances. Some butterflies have evolved symbiotic and parasitic relationships with social insects such as ants. Some species are pests because in their larval stages they can damage domestic crops or trees; however, some species are agents of pollination of some plants, and caterpillars of a few butterflies (e.g., Harvesters) eat harmful insects. Culturally, butterflies are a popular motif in the visual and literary arts.

Contents

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• 1 Life cycle
  • 1.1 Egg
  • 1.2 Caterpillars
    • 1.2.1 Wing development
  • 1.3 Pupa
  • 1.4 Adult or imago
• 2 External morphology
  • 2.1 Scales
• 3 Polymorphism
  • 3.1 Mimicry
  • 3.2 Seasonal polyphenism
• 4 Habits
• 5 Flight
  • 5.1 Migration
• 6 Defense
• 7 Notable species
• 8 In culture
  • 8.1 Art
  • 8.2 Symbolism
  • 8.3 Technological inspiration
• 9 See also
• 10 Field guides to butterflies
• 11 Cited references
• 12 Other references
• 13 External links
  • 13.1 General interest
  • 13.2 Regional lists
• 14 Literature
  • 14.1 Images/Movies