Many larvae are hairy or spiny in characteristic ways; sometimes these projections are stinging. Lepidoptera species are overwhelmingly herbivorous but only a few have been used successfully in the biological control of weeds. Many larvae pupate in cocoons; others make none. A proboscis formed from the elongate, grooved galeae of the maxillae (held together by minute interlocking spines) is usually present.

The cerci are lost. From the economic perspective, any negative role of Lepidoptera as predators and parasites is minor.

or in adjacent areas in Western Canada and the Western United States. Adults are preyed on by predaceous plants, insects and spiders, birds, bats and many other organisms. Volume IV, Arthropoda: Insecta, Part 35. While there is public recognition of two distinct and separate groups,  "moths" and "butterflies", experts include butterflies and the closely related skippers within the much larger assemblages of moths. [www.efauna.bc.ca]. Thus, of all the orders of insects, the Lepidoptera have radiated most recently. The characteristic scales of adults are dense, dust-like and slippery; they detach easily from the body and wings, sometimes allowing an attacked insect to escape a predator or a sticky spider web. The Glossata also show another major innovation, the spinnerets under the larval mouth that dispense silk. Shepard. Note the yellowish tufts on the silver-spotted tiger moth caterpillars.

However, to preserve butterfly populations, butterfly caterpillars should not be disturbed.

In growth of exoskeleton to which muscles attach. Forests.ForestPracticesBranchOffice@gov.bc.ca, *Don't provide personal information . Gypsy moths are defoliators, which means their caterpillars eat the leaves of trees and shrubs. Adults feed mainly on nectar and other liquid food such as fermenting tree sap, insect honeydew and food-rich fluids in mud and dung. Wood.

Assessment of species diversity in the Montane Cordillera Ecozone. But the insect has more than 300 known hosts, including native shade trees, the rare and endangered Garry oak and valuable ornamental trees. Butterflies usually do not make a cocoon and the naked pupa is often called a chrysalis – it can be sculptured or brightly coloured and frequently is fastened to a plant with a silken girdle. Painted Lady (Vannessa cardui), photo by Diane Williamson. Wingspans range from about 3 mm to 280 mm.

An inspector will investigate.

and J.H. Layberry, R.A., P.W. Along with two small families from the Southern Hemisphere, these moths still use mandibles for eating pollen and have not evolved a proboscis for sucking fluids.

Note the black tufts of hair on the Taylor's checkerspot caterpillar, and the single row of reddish-orange dots. Canadian Swallowtail caterpiller ( Papilio canadensis ), photo by Cris Guppy.

The approximately 200 species of the Micropterigidae, of all living Lepidoptera, are the most similar to the original Jurassic forms. Antennae are long and slender, usually partly clothed with scales and composed of two basal segments and a flagellum of 20 to 60 units. An established population is defined by the North American Plant Protection Organization as one that is perpetuating "for the foreseeable future within an area after entry.". To defend against many of these attacks, members of the order are masters of concealment and deception. Mandibles are nearly always vestigial or lacking. Lepidoptera: From the Greek lepidos = scale and ptera = wings. Many adults and immatures are amazingly camouflaged as bark, lichen, leaves and twigs. In I.M. One part of a multiannulated antennal falgellum. Thread-like, saw-toothed and clubbed forms are included and comb-like or plumose antennae are common. Perhaps the single biggest economic and cultural contribution of the order is silk. In British Columbia, there are about 2285 species of Lepidoptera recorded -- 184 are butterflies (including 29 skippers) and 2101 are moths. Moths and butterflies are clothed in flattened scales. The North American strain of the moth was first seen in B.C. Gypsy moths are not yet established in B.C. Lepidopterous larvae are commonly called caterpillars.

2007. In some groups the thoracic legs and/or prolegs may be reduced or lost Larvae lack compound eyes but there are usually six ocelli on each side of the head. Saddleback Caterpillar Moth... Actias luna larva Luna Moth Agraulis vanillae Gulf Fritillary... Agrius cingulata Pink-spotted Hawk Moth... Amorpha juglandis larva Walnut Sphinx... Anisota senatoria larva Orange-striped Oakworm Anisota stigma larva Spiny Oakworm Anisota virginiensis larva It is found primarily on maple, birch, horse chestnut, hazel, walnut, and oak trees. It is also called the hairy caterpillar. Paired articulated dorsal plates of prothorax. Forest defoliators are also legion. A leaf-like or spur-like, basally-articulating process on the inner aspect of the fore tibia of some Lepidoptera, used to clean the antennae. Contrary to the popular belief that butterflies and moths are two separate groups that comprise the Lepidoptera, butterflies are simply relatively recently derived, colourful, day-flying moths in the Macrolepidoptera consisting of the superfamilies Hesperioidea and Papilionoidea. The Lepidoptera is the largest lineage of plant eating organisms, rivalled only by the huge clade of phytophagous (plant eating) beetles(Coleoptera) that includes the weevils, leaf beetles and longhorned beetles, a group of at least 125,000 named species. Some larvae live in silken cases or webs, others roll or tie leaves and hide in them. Email: Many males have specialized scent scales that help to spread pheromones produced by associated glands.