Butterflies & Moths (Order Lepidoptera)

This article describes the characteristics of the order Lepidoptera, the butterflies and moths.

Butterflies and moths, all members of the order Lepidoptera, undergo complete metamorphosis with four stages - egg, larve, pupa, and adult. In each of these four life cycle stages, the insect looks and behaves quite differently from the others.

How much do you really know about caterpillars? Here are 10 cool facts about caterpillars.

Identifying butterflies begins with learning the six butterfly families. The first five families – swallowtails, brush-foots, whites and sulphurs, gossamer-wings, and metalmarks – are called the true butterflies. The last group, the skippers, are sometimes considered separate from the butterflies.

Brush-footed butterflies include a variety of common butterflies, including monarchs, admirals, anglewings, and fritillaries. Learn the identifying features of butterflies in the family Nymphalidae.

The butterfly family Papilionidae consists of the familiar swallowtails and the uncommon parnassians. Learn which key traits they share as members of this group.

Butterflies can't get all their nutrients from nectar. They need to drink from mud puddles, too. Here's why.

Many people believe that if you touch a butterfly's wings, it will no longer be able to fly, and will die. Is this true or not?

Stinging caterpillars use poison-filled bristles to defend themselves from predators. If you touch a stinging caterpillar, you'll know it by the burning, itching, or just plain painful sensation that follows. These pictures will help you learn to recognize stinging caterpillars - before you touch them.

Members of the family Sphingidae, the sphinx moths, attract attention with their large size and ability to hover. Gardeners and farmers will recognize their larvae as the pesky hornworms that can wipe out a crop in a matter of days.

Bagworm is not a worm, but a moth whose larvae disguise themselves in bags made from bits of foliage. A native pest of North America, bagworm infests popular landscape evergreens like arborvitae and junipers.

The Black Swallowtail, one of North America’s most common butterflies, frequently visits backyard gardens. This article is a profile of the Black Swallowtail, Papilio polyxenes.

Eastern tent caterpillars are best recognized by their characteristic silken tents in the crotches of cherry and apple trees. These moth larvae may be confused with another spring caterpillar, the gypsy moth, or by another tent builder, the fall webworm. Get to know the eastern tent caterpillars characteristics and habits.

Fall webworm, a moth native to North America, produces unsightly silk tents on hardwood trees. The fall webworm larvae live communally in their tents, where they feed and grow.

The World Conservation Union ranks the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, on its list of "100 of the World's Most Invasive Alien Species." Accidentally introduced to the U.S. in the late 1860's, the gypsy moth now consumes a million acres of forest each year, on average.

The Monarch butterfly, familiar to nearly everyone in North America, depends on milkweed plants for caterpillars to eat. The orange and black butterflies are best known for their seasonal migrations to and from Mexico.

Monarch butterflies in North America make their way to Mexico each winter, a migration of some 2,000 miles. What do monarch butterflies eat?

Monarchs east of the Rocky Mountains migrate to Mexico each fall. Did you ever wonder how the monarchs know when it's time to migrate?

The Painted Lady inhabits backyards and meadows throughout most of the world, and is the most widespread butterfly species. Schoolchildren often recognize this butterfly, as raising these butterflies is a popular science activity in elementary classrooms.

Are you raising painted lady butterflies in your elementary school classroom? Do these familiar butterflies visit your yard? Here are 7 fascinating facts about painted ladies.

The silver-spotted skipper is a common resident of fields, meadows, parks, and gardens. With it's brown wings and quick flight from flower to flower, it's often overlooked for slower, brighter butterflies.

Want to bring butterflies to your backyard? Butterflies need good sources of nectar, and these twelve perennials are butterfly favorites. If you plant it, they will come.

A complete resource for anyone interested in the order Lepidoptera as it occurs in North America. The site includes images, species accounts, and maps with reported occurrences of moths and butterflies.

Everyone is familiar with butterflies, but how much do you really know about these insects? Here are 10 cool facts about butterflies.

Planting a butterfly garden? Don't plant butterfly bush! Learn why butterfly bush is bad, and what you can plant instead of butterfly bush.

Include caterpillar host plants in your butterfly garden, and you'll attract a lot more butterflies as they visit your plants to lay eggs. Here's a list of butterflies likely to visit your garden, and the host plants you'll need to support their caterpillars.

Caterpillars are the larvae of butterflies and moths. What do caterpillars eat?

Are you sure you're looking at a caterpillar? Sawfly larvae look very similar to caterpillars. There's one easy way to tell them apart - count their legs.

Want to see hundreds of colorful butterflies up close? Visit your nearest butterfly house. These butterfly exhibits let you walk through an indoor garden designed just for butterflies and showy moths. If you're lucky, one might even land on you.

Thinking of visiting a butterfly house? This article will help you understand the butterfly behaviors you observe. Also, I'll give you tips for getting a butterfly to land on you, and for how to take better photographs at the butterfly exhibit.