Papilionoidea facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Papilionoidea
Kamehameha
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Suborder:	Ditrysia
Superfamily:	Papilionoidea Latreille, 1802
(unranked):	Rhopalocera
Families
Papilionidae Pieridae Nymphalidae Lycaenidae Riodinidae

The group of insects called Papilionoidea includes most of the butterflies you see. This name comes from the word "Papilio," which means "butterfly."

Not all butterflies belong to this group. For example, "skippers" (from the Hesperioidea group) and some moth-like butterflies (from the Hedyloidea group) are different.

What Makes Papilionoidea Butterflies Special?

You can tell butterflies in the Papilionoidea group apart by these features:

• Their bodies are smaller and don't look much like moths.
• Their wings are usually larger compared to their bodies.
• Their antennae are straight and have a club-like or hooked shape at the end.
• Their caterpillars do not spin a silk cocoon when they are ready to change into a pupa.
• The pupae (the stage between caterpillar and butterfly) have an angular, or pointy, shape instead of being round.

Families of Papilionoidea Butterflies

A Brush-footed butterfly from the Charaxinae subfamily.

There are five main families of butterflies within the Papilionoidea group:

• Swallowtails and Birdwings (Papilionidae): These are often large and colorful butterflies. Many have "tails" on their hindwings, like a swallow's tail.
• Whites and Yellows (Pieridae): This family includes many common white, yellow, or orange butterflies. You might see them flying around gardens and fields.
• Blues and Coppers (Lycaenidae): These are often small butterflies with bright blue, copper, or iridescent wings. They are also known as Gossamer-Winged Butterflies.
• Metalmark Butterflies (Riodinidae): These butterflies often have small, metallic-looking spots on their wings, which is how they got their name.
• Brush-footed Butterflies (Nymphalidae): This is the largest family of butterflies. They are called "brush-footed" because their front legs are very small and hairy, looking like brushes. This family includes many well-known butterflies like monarchs and painted ladies.

The Brush-footed Butterflies (Nymphalidae) family is very big and has many smaller groups called subfamilies. Some of these include:

• The snout butterflies (Libytheinae)
• The Danaids, like the Monarch butterfly (Danainae)
• The Tellervinae
• The glasswings (Ithomiinae)
• The Calinaginae
• The morphos and owls (Morphinae)
• The Browns (Satyrinae)
• The Charaxinae (which include preponas and leaf butterflies)
• The Biblidinae
• The Apaturinae
• The nymphs (Nymphalinae)
• The Limenitidinae (which include the adelphas)
• The tropical longwings (Heliconiinae)

See also

In Spanish: Papilionoidea para niños