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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Systematic Entomology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #341214
Research Project: Systematics of Moths Significant to Biodiversity, Quarantine, and Control, with a Focus on Invasive Species

Location: Systematic Entomology Laboratory

Title: Order Lepidoptera

Author
item GRACA, MARLON - Federal University Of Amazonas (UFAM)
item Solis, M Alma

Submitted to: Academic Press
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/19/2017
Publication Date: 10/4/2018
Citation: Graca, M.B., Solis, M.A. 2018. Order Lepidoptera. Academic Press. 325-337.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Regarded as the third most diverse group of insects, the Lepidoptera (greek: lepidos = scale, pteron = wing) are commonly known as the conspicuous butterflies and moths. The vast majority of lepidopterans are terrestrial organisms, but some species inhabit bodies of water or plants that occur in water. Studies on aquatic and semi-aquatic moths in the Neotropics are extremely sparse, so they are overlooked as members of freshwater communities. Still, the Neotropical region is regarded as home of higher diversity of freshwater Lepidoptera than any other zoogeographic region. Currently, these water-related moths have been identified as belonging to eight families: Cosmopterigidae, Momphidae, Tortricidae, Pyralidae, Crambidae, Sphingidae, Erebidae and Noctuidae. We provide an illustrated key for the larvae of these aquatic and semi-aquatic moth groups.