The Lepidoptera, one of the main plant-feeding groups of insects in the world, are well known to most all persons familiar with nature or the garden, as the day-flying butterflies and the mostly nocturnal moths. Included are all the butterflies and skippers (superfamily Papilionoidea), plus such common moth groups as silkworms (or silkmoths) (family Bombycidae), emperor moths (or giant silkmoths) (family Saturniidae), hornworms (or hawk moths) (family Sphingidae), cutworms (or millers and owlet moths) (family Noctuidae), inch worms (or geometer moths) (family Geometridae), clothes moths (family Tineidae), and many others. The spectacular variety of wing coloration and markings of the Lepidoptera has evolved over millions of years, from the rather drab primitive moths that hardly appear much different than the related Trichoptera, to the most brilliantly colored butterflies. The Lepidoptera are notably differentiated from Trichoptera by the scales which cover the wings and all external...
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Heppner, J.B. (2008). Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera). In: Capinera, J.L. (eds) Encyclopedia of Entomology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6359-6_498
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