![]() Its origins are possibly related to the Old English maða meaning ' maggot' or from the root of midge which until the 16th century was used mostly to indicate the larva, usually in reference to devouring clothes.Ĭaterpillar Poplar hawk-moth caterpillar ( Laothoe populi) Northumbrian mohðe) from Common Germanic (compare Old Norse motti, Dutch mot, and German Motte all meaning 'moth'). The modern English word moth comes from Old English moððe ( cf. Lepidoptera first evolved during the Carboniferous period, but only evolved their characteristic proboscis alongside the rise of angiosperms in the Cretaceous period. ![]() The divisions are named by this principle: "club-antennae" (Rhopalocera) or "varied-antennae" (Heterocera). Moth antennae are usually feathery with no ball on the end. Īlthough the rules for distinguishing moths from butterflies are not well established, one very good guiding principle is that butterflies have thin antennae and (with the exception of the family Hedylidae) have small balls or clubs at the end of their antennae. Many attempts have been made to group the superfamilies of the Lepidoptera into natural groups, most of which fail because one of the two groups is not monophyletic: Microlepidoptera and Macrolepidoptera, Heterocera and Rhopalocera, Jugatae and Frenatae, Monotrysia and Ditrysia. While the butterflies form a monophyletic group, the moths, comprising the rest of the Lepidoptera, do not. Main article: Comparison of butterflies and moths Basic moth identification features
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |