What is a Lepidoptera?
Lepidoptera is the order of invertebrates that contains butterflies, moths, and skippers. The name means scale wing. Both butterflies and moths wings are covered in small overlapping scales. This is why we must be so careful to not touch their delicate wings. Currently there is no scientific consensus as to the exact date of when moths/butterflies appear in the fossil record. Here are two of the most popular opinions: The first primitive moths appear in the fossil record about 140 million years ago, during the Age of Dinosaurs. The oldest known fossil butterflies date to about 40 million years ago, from the Age of Mammals. OR: The first primitive moths are found in Cretaceous amber which dates from the Age of Dinosaurs, over 70 million years ago. The oldest known fossil butterflies are from Green River Shale in Colorado, which dates from the Age of Mammals, about 48 million years ago. [Different sources differ on the ages.] The closest relatives of Lepidoptera are the caddisflies (Tric