Order Lepidoptera: Moths and butterflies

The Lepidoptera contains the moths and butterflies. Lepidoptera means 'scale winged', and their wings are covered with fine colored scales. As larvae they have chewing mouthparts, but as adults most have siphoning mouthparts used to collect nectar. Lepidoptera have complete metamorphosis. Many of the larvae in this group are plant pests, while many of the butterflies are encouraged by gardeners.

The hickory horned devil caterpillar and the royal walnut moth (its adult stage) is an example of complete metamorphosis. The hickory horned devil caterpillar is the largest in the state, measuring over 6 inches in length.

Kentucky Examples in the Order Lepidoptera:

There are several species of stinging caterpillars in Kentucky, pictured here is the saddleback caterpillar. The larva is protected with many hollow, poison-filled spines. Spines easily penetrate human skin and break off. The sting by these insects can be very painful. The saddleback caterpillar is in the group of slug moth caterpillars.

Bagworms are a common pest of landscape plants. The bags are used by the larvae for protection. They weave bits of plant material with silk they produce to form a strong bag. The adult female is a wingless moth that remains in the bag to lay her eggs.

The tobacco hornworm is a common pest of tobacco, tomato, and other solenaceous plants. The 'hornworm' part of the name refers to the reddish horn at the end of the abdomen. While insects have three pairs of jointed legs, caterpillars appear to have more. The true legs are just behind the head. The large fleshy legs on the abdomen are not 'true' legs because they are not jointed. These are called prolegs. The numbers of prolegs can be used to distinguish caterpillars from sawfly larvae. The tobacco hornworm has five pairs of prolegs, others may have as few as two pairs.

This is the question mark butterfly, named for a small marking on the underside of the hind wing. Butterflies are day fliers and many are brightly colored. The antennae are characteristic with a knob on the end or a small hook.

Most moths are night fliers, but some do fly only during the day. This is the parthenice tiger moth. Moths do not have knobs on the end of the antennae, but instead have either threadlike antennae or …

… featherlike antennae. This is one of our larger moths, this is the luna moth. It belongs to a family of giant silkworm moths. Luna moths are occasionally seen when they are attracted to lights at night.

One deceptive group of moths is the clearwing moths. These moths mimic the appearance and behavior of other insects. For example, this clearwing moth resembles a yellowjacket. Many of the clearwings have reduced amounts of scales on their wings, others do not. There are many serious pests in this group including the dogwood borer, peachtree borer, and squash vine borer.

Updated November 2005