A To Z Challenge: Lepidopterology And Lepidopterans

Lepidopterology is the study of the order Lepidoptera, which includes moths and butterflies. It's a branch of entomology and, in turn, zoology and biology. The name originates from the Latin words "lepido", or scale, and "ptera", or wings. It refers to the fine scale-like materials that cover a lepidopteran's wings. There are over 100,000 species (perhaps as high as 174,000 depending on who you cite) and there is no technical difference between moths and butterflies--only some moths are nocturnal, with the rest being closely related to their "butterfly" counterparts.

I was going to continue with the recent discovery of the history of pygmy moths, but then I decided hey, it's the weekend, and I just gave you guys a complicated post yesterday about patenting genes and upcoming court cases. How about enjoying some pictures of lepidopterans instead. If you do want to know about pygmy moths (some named after Casanova and the Minotaur) the link is above.

All images here are public domain, found either on Pixabay or Wikimedia Commons.

Please excuse all the whitespace. I'd have added a third image, but Blogger won't let me put anything except text here.

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Sources:
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/lepidopterology
http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/course/ent425/library/compendium/lepidoptera.html
http://www.esc-sec.org/butterflies-lepidopterology/
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthropoda/uniramia/lepidoptera.html
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Lepidoptera/

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What's your favorite butterfly or moth? Do any lepidopterans flit around where you live?


-----The Golden Eagle