Lepidoptera

(lep-i-dop’ te-rii), n. pl. [NL., neut. pl. of lepid opter us, scaly-winged: see lepidopterous.| An order of hexapod insects, or true Insect a, with suctorial mouth-parts in the form of a spiral antlia, four similar membranous wings completely covered with scales, a fused rothorax, and perfect metamorphosis. These eautiful insects are known as butterflies and moths, the former being the Lepidoptera diurna, or Rhopalocera, and the latter the Lepidoptera nocturn a, or Heterocera, respectively constituting the two suborders into which the order is now usually divided. In the adults the mouth is completely haustellate or antliate, the maxille being modified into a tubular sucking-proboscis, and the mandibles being rudimentary. The modified maxille have a pair of palps. The head is loosely attached to the thorax, and the long slender legs are very freely movable. The fore pair are rudimentary in some butterflies. The body is hairy; the prothorax has a pair of tippets or patagia, and the mesothorax a pair of scales, tegule, or pa- Lepidoptera. 1. Butterfly —Hipparch i a gala the a, marbled white butterfly. 2. Hawk-moth or sphinx— Macro glo a stell at arum, hummi -bird hawk-moth. 3. Moth—dérax as gro ular i at a, magpie-moth. Palpi and spiral mouth of butterfly. 5. Antennz—da, butterfly’s; 6, sphinx's; c, moth’s. 6. Portion of wing of cabbage-butterfly, with part of the scales removed. 7. Scales of same, magnified. raptera. The pupa is obtected. The larva, known as a caterpillar, is mandibulate, having masticatory instead of suctorial mouth-parts, and is provided with from 4 to 10 prolegs or prop-legs besides the 6 true legs. The lip of the larva bears a double-orificed spinneret, a tubular organ through which pa es the silk of which the cocoon is fabricated. Caterpillars are almost invariably ye getable-feeders, and often prove highly destructive. A few species are known to be carnivorous. Upward of 50,000 species are described. In the Linnean system, prior to 1758, the Lepidoptera consisted of the two genera Papilio and Phalena, corresponding to the modern suborders Rhopalocera and Heterocera, or butterflies and moths; later, in the same system, of the genera Papilio, Sphinz, and Phalena, corresponding to the Latreillean Lepidoptera diurna, erepuseularia, and nocturn a. Later writers divided the order into the families Papilio nide, Sphingide, digertidce, Zygenidce, Bombycide, Noctuidee, Geo me tride, Pyralide, Tortricidee, and Tineide; and nearly all of these have been further subdivided into other families.