Friday, April 19, 2013

Lepidoptera Vocabulary Lesson I: Naming of Parts

If you really love butterflies and moths, you should know how to talk the talk. This is the first of a series of posts covering some of the terms any lepidopterist, amateur or professional, should know how to use. What's a lepidopterist, you ask? Well, let's dive right in...

A Lepidoptera textbook
Lepidoptera: (Pronounced "Lep-uh-dop-tur-ist") Lepidoptera is the name of the order of insects containing both butterflies and moths. Those who study or work with these organisms are known as Lepidopterists. In the larger scheme of taxonomy, butterflies and moth belong to Kingdom Animalia, Phylum Arthopoda, and Class Insecta. The order Lepidoptera includes many Families, each containing multiple Genus and Species.
  • "This is the lab of our resident Lepidopterists, Kristen and Jill. Here they breed and study the Lepidoptera of Central Florida, including both butterflies and moths."
Ectotherm: (Pronounced "Ehk-toh-therm") Chances are good you grew up hearing the terms "warm-blooded" and "cold-blooded" in biology class. These terms are confusing and inaccurate, though, and biologists often prefer to use the more specific endotherm and ectotherm. Endothermic organisms are those that are able to self-regulate their body temperature (i.e. humans, most mammals and birds), while ectotherms rely on environmental sources to regulate their temperatures (i.e. fish, insects). As a result, many ectotherms are also poikilothermic (see below.)

  • "As an ectotherm, a butterfly must spread its wings and bask in the sun each morning in order to raise its body temperature to about 85 degrees F, at which point it is warm enough to fly."
A Red Admiral basking in the sun on a cool morning
Poikilotherm: (Pronounced "Poy-kee-loh-therm") A poikilothermic organism is one whose body temperature may vary a great deal depending on the ambient temperature of its environment. The term derives from the Greek, with "poikilo" meaning "varied" and "therm" meaning "temperature".
  • "Butterflies are poikilothermic, and they rely on the sun to provide much of their body heat. In the early morning, a butterfly's temperature will closely match that of the air outside. As the sun rises, poikilotherms like butterflies can raise their body temperature as much as 30 - 40 degrees by absorbing solar energy, and sometimes their body temperature will be even greater than that of the ambient air."
Proboscis: (Pronounced "Pro-bah-skiss" or "Pro-bah-siss") This is probably one of the better-known butterfly terms out there. Butterflies and moths do not have mouths. Instead, most of these species (with the exception of some families of moths, which do not feed at all as adults) have a proboscis extending from the front of their heads. This serves as a sort of straw through which they can sip nectar, drink water, and take in other food sources. It coils up when not in use. To learn more about the proboscis, click here.
  • "Take a close look at this Monarch and you can see its proboscis extended down into the flower to find the nectar inside. It sips nectar through the proboscis like you might drink milk through a straw."
A monarch extends its proboscis to drink from a milkweed bloom.
Tentacle: Most people assume the spiky projections they see sticking out from a caterpillar’s head are antennae. In fact, a caterpillar’s antennae are very short projections found close to the caterpillar’s mouth (see a picture here). The fleshy protuberances found at the front and back of many caterpillars' bodies, and sometimes along the middle, are actually tentacles. The tentacles are used to gather sensory information for caterpillars.
  • "Watch this Pipevine Swallowtail caterpillar as it moves quickly along the ground, constantly moving its tentacles to gather more information about its surroundings."
Pipevine Swallowtail larvae have very obvious tentacles.
Spiracle: (Pronounced "Speer-uh-kul") Butterflies and caterpillars don't have lungs, but they do need to take in oxygen. Both do so through their spiracles, small openings along the sides of their bodies. These spiracles are linked to tiny tubes called tracheae, which deliver the oxygen directly to their tissues and organs. The process is reversed to excrete carbon dioxide.

  • "Even though it doesn't have a true mouth, a butterfly still breathes. It takes in oxygen and excretes carbon dioxide through its spiracles. Caterpillars breathe in the same way."


Scale: If you touch a butterfly wing, your fingers will come away covered in what looks like dust. This dust is actually made up of the butterfly's wing scales which overlap in orderly rows just like shingles on a roof. Tiny sockets in the membranes hold in the individual wing scales, and if the scales are rubbed off, the weaker clear membrane is exposed, making it harder for butterflies to fly.

  • "It's important not to touch a living butterfly, since every brush of your fingers removes some of their wing scales. Butterflies are unable to grow these scales back, and if they lose too many of them they will be unable to fly."
Wing Scales
Want more anatomy vocabulary? Check out these posts:

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