Lists of Lepidoptera by region

The following are the regional Lepidoptera lists by continent. Lepidoptera is the insect order consisting of both the butterflies and moths.

Lepidoptera are among the most successful groups of insects. They are found on all continents, except Antarctica. Lepidoptera inhabit all terrestrial habitats ranging from desert to rainforest, from lowland grasslands to montane plateaus but almost always associated with higher plants, especially angiosperms (flowering plants).[1] Among the most northern dwelling species of butterflies and moths is the Arctic Apollo (Parnassius arcticus), which is found in the Arctic Circle in northeastern Yakutia, at an altitude of 1500 meters above sea level.[2] In the Himalayas, various Apollo species such as Parnassius epaphus, have been recorded to occur up to an altitude of 6,000 meters above sea level.[3]: 221 

Some lepidopteran species exhibit symbiotic, phoretic, or parasitic life-styles, inhabiting the bodies of organisms rather than the environment. Coprophagous pyralid moth species, called sloth moths, such as Bradipodicola hahneli and Cryptoses choloepi, are unusual in that they are exclusively found inhabiting the fur of sloths, mammals found in Central and South America.[4][5] Two species of Tinea moths have been recorded as feeding on horny tissue and have been bred from the horns of cattle. The larva of Zenodochium coccivorella is an internal parasite of the coccid Kermes species. Many species have been recorded as breeding in natural materials or refuse such as owl pellets, bat caves, honey-combs or diseased fruit.[5]

Of the approximately 174,250 lepidopteran species described until 2007, butterflies and skippers are estimated to comprise approximately 17,950, with moths making up the rest.[6][7] The vast majority of Lepidoptera are to be found in the tropics, but substantial diversity exists on most continents. North America has over 700 species of butterflies and over 11,000 species of moths,[8][9] while there are about 400 species of butterflies and 14,000 species of moths reported from Australia.[10] The diversity of Lepidoptera in each faunal region has been estimated by John Heppner in 1991 based partly on actual counts from the literature, partly on the card indices in the Natural History Museum (London) and the National Museum of Natural History (Washington), and partly on estimates:[11]: 726 

Diversity of Lepidoptera in each faunal region
Palearctic Nearctic Neotropic Afrotropic Indo-Australian
(comprising Indomalayan and Australasian realms)
Estimated number of species 22,465 11,532 44,791 20,491 47,286

Species by continent

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Africa

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Flag Country or territory Moths Butterflies
  Algeria Moths Butterflies
  Angola Moths Butterflies
  Benin Moths Butterflies
  Botswana Moths Butterflies
  Burkina Faso Moths Butterflies
  Burundi Moths Butterflies
  Cameroon Moths Butterflies
  Canary Islands (Autonomous community of Spain) Moths Butterflies
  Cape Verde Moths Butterflies
  Central African Republic Moths Butterflies
  Chad Moths Butterflies
  Comoros Moths Butterflies
  Congo, Democratic Republic of (Congo-Kinshasa) Moths Butterflies
  Congo, Republic of (Congo-Brazzaville) Moths Butterflies
  Djibouti Moths Butterflies
  Egypt Moths Butterflies
  Equatorial Guinea Moths Butterflies
  Eritrea Moths Butterflies
  Ethiopia Moths Butterflies
  Gabon Moths Butterflies
  Gambia Moths Butterflies
  Ghana Moths Butterflies
  Guinea Moths Butterflies
  Guinea-Bissau Moths Butterflies
  Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) Moths Butterflies
  Kenya Moths Butterflies
  Lesotho Moths Butterflies
  Liberia Moths Butterflies
  Libya Moths Butterflies
  Madagascar Moths Butterflies
  Malawi Moths Butterflies
  Mali Moths Butterflies
  Mauritania Moths Butterflies
  Mauritius Moths Butterflies
  Mayotte (Overseas territory of France) Moths Butterflies
  Morocco Moths Butterflies
  Mozambique Moths Butterflies
  Namibia Moths Butterflies
  Niger Moths Butterflies
  Nigeria Moths Butterflies
  Réunion (Overseas department of France) Moths Butterflies
  Rwanda Moths Butterflies
  Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha (Overseas territory of the United Kingdom) Moths Butterflies
  Sao Tome and Principe Moths Butterflies
  Selvagens Islands (Part of the parish of of Portugal) Moths Butterflies
  Senegal Moths Butterflies
  Seychelles Moths Butterflies
  Sierra Leone Moths Butterflies
  Somalia Moths Butterflies
  South Africa Moths Butterflies
  Sudan Moths Butterflies
  Swaziland Moths Butterflies
  Tanzania Moths Butterflies
  Togo Moths Butterflies
  Tunisia Moths Butterflies
  Uganda Moths Butterflies
  Zambia Moths Butterflies
  Zimbabwe Moths Butterflies

Asia

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Flag Country or territory Moths Butterflies
  Abkhazia[Europe 1] Moths Butterflies
  Afghanistan Moths Butterflies
  Akrotiri and Dhekelia[Europe 1] (Overseas territory of the United Kingdom located on Cyprus) Moths Butterflies
  Armenia[Europe 1] Moths Butterflies
  Azerbaijan[Europe 1] Moths Butterflies
  Bahrain Moths Butterflies
  Bangladesh Moths Butterflies
  Bhutan Moths Butterflies
  British Indian Ocean Territory[Asia 1] (Overseas territory of the United Kingdom) Moths Butterflies
  Brunei Moths Butterflies
  Cambodia Moths Butterflies
  China Moths Butterflies
  Christmas Island[Asia 2] (External territory of Australia) Moths Butterflies
  Cocos (Keeling) Islands[Asia 2] (External territory of Australia) Moths Butterflies
  Cyprus[Europe 1] Moths Butterflies
  Georgia[Europe 1] Moths Butterflies
  India Moths Butterflies
Butterflies of the Western Ghats
  Indonesia Moths Butterflies
Butterflies of Sulawesi
  Iran Moths Butterflies
  Iraq Moths Butterflies
  Israel Moths Butterflies
  Japan Moths Butterflies
  Jordan Moths Butterflies
  Kazakhstan Moths Butterflies
  Korea, Democratic People's Republic of (North Korea) Moths Butterflies
  Korea, Republic of (South Korea) Moths Butterflies
  Kuwait Moths Butterflies
  Kyrgyzstan Moths Butterflies
  Laos Moths Butterflies
  Lebanon Moths Butterflies
  Malaysia Moths Butterflies
Butterflies of Peninsular Malaysia
  Maldives Moths Butterflies
  Mongolia Moths Butterflies
  Myanmar (Burma) Moths Butterflies
  Nepal Moths Butterflies
  Oman Moths Butterflies
  Pakistan Moths Butterflies
  Palestinian territories Moths Butterflies
  Philippines Moths Butterflies
  Qatar Moths Butterflies
  Saudi Arabia Moths Butterflies
  Singapore Moths Butterflies
  Sri Lanka Moths Butterflies
  Syria Moths Butterflies
  Taiwan Moths Butterflies
  Tajikistan Moths Butterflies
  Thailand Moths Butterflies
  Timor-Leste (East Timor) Moths Butterflies
  Turkey[Europe 1] Moths Butterflies
  Turkmenistan Moths Butterflies
  United Arab Emirates Moths Butterflies
  Uzbekistan Moths Butterflies
  Vietnam Moths Butterflies
  Yemen Moths Butterflies
  1. ^ The British Indian Ocean Territory is sometimes considered as an African territory, since it was historically part of Mauritius.
  2. ^ a b Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands are sometimes considered as Oceanian territories, since they are dependent territories of Australia.

Europe

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Flag Country or territory Moths Butterflies
  Albania Moths Butterflies
  Andorra Moths Butterflies
  Austria Moths Butterflies
  Azores Moths Butterflies
  Belarus Moths Butterflies
  Belgium Moths Butterflies
  Bosnia and Herzegovina Moths Butterflies
  Bulgaria Moths Butterflies
  Croatia Moths Butterflies
  Czech Republic Moths Butterflies
  Denmark Moths Butterflies
  Estonia Moths Butterflies
  Faroe Islands Moths Butterflies
  Finland Moths Butterflies
  France Moths Butterflies
  Germany Moths Butterflies
  Greece Moths Butterflies
  Hungary Moths Butterflies
  Iceland Moths Butterflies
  Ireland Moths Butterflies
  Italy Moths Butterflies
  Latvia Moths Butterflies
  Liechtenstein Moths Butterflies
  Lithuania Moths Butterflies
  Luxembourg Moths Butterflies
  Macedonia Moths Butterflies
  Madeira Moths Butterflies
  Malta Moths Butterflies
  Moldova Moths Butterflies
  Montenegro Moths Butterflies
  Netherlands Moths Butterflies
  Norway Moths Butterflies
  Poland Moths Butterflies
  Portugal Moths Butterflies
  Romania Moths Butterflies
  Russia[Europe 2] Moths Butterflies
Butterflies of Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast
  Serbia Moths Butterflies
  Slovakia Moths Butterflies
  Slovenia Moths Butterflies
  Spain Moths Butterflies
Butterflies of Minorca
  Sweden Moths Butterflies
  Switzerland Moths Butterflies
  Ukraine Moths Butterflies
  United Kingdom Moths Butterflies
  1. ^ a b c d e f g The following countries and territories are also often considered as European:
    •   Armenia,   Azerbaijan,   Cyprus,   Georgia, and   Turkey, classified as Asian countries by the United Nations Statistics Division, are also often considered as European countries, since their territories are either partly in Europe or in the vicinity of Europe (for the geographical boundaries between Asia and Europe, see here), and they have close political and historical ties with Europe (e.g., they are members of the Council of Europe).
    •   Abkhazia,   Nagorno-Karabakh,   Northern Cyprus, and   South Ossetia, all sovereign states lacking general international recognition, are also often considered as European countries.
    •   Akrotiri and Dhekelia is also often considered as a European territory.
  2. ^ Russia is generally considered as a European country more than an Asian country, even though most of its territory is in Asia, since most of its population and also its capital are in Europe, and it has close political and historical ties with Europe.

North America

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Flag Country or territory Moths Butterflies
  Anguilla Moths Butterflies
  Antigua and Barbuda Moths Butterflies
  Aruba (Constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) Moths Butterflies
  Bahamas Moths Butterflies
  Barbados Moths Butterflies
  Belize Moths Butterflies
  Bermuda (Overseas territory of the United Kingdom) Moths Butterflies
  Bonaire (Special municipality of the Netherlands) Moths Butterflies
  British Virgin Islands (Overseas territory of the United Kingdom) Moths Butterflies
  Canada Moths Butterflies
  Cayman Islands (Overseas territory of the United Kingdom) Moths Butterflies
  Clipperton Island (Overseas territory of France) Moths Butterflies
  Costa Rica Moths Butterflies
  Cuba Moths Butterflies
  Curaçao (Constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) Moths Butterflies
  Dominica Moths Butterflies
  Dominican Republic Moths Butterflies
  El Salvador Moths Butterflies
  Greenland (Self-governing territory of Denmark) Moths Butterflies
  Grenada Moths Butterflies
  Guadeloupe (Overseas department of France) Moths Butterflies
  Guatemala Moths Butterflies
  Haiti Moths Butterflies
  Honduras Moths Butterflies
  Jamaica Moths Butterflies
  Martinique (Overseas department of France) Moths Butterflies
  Mexico Moths Butterflies
  Montserrat (Overseas territory of the United Kingdom) Moths Butterflies
  Navassa Island (Insular area of the United States of America) Moths Butterflies
  Nicaragua Moths Butterflies
  Panama Moths Butterflies
  Puerto Rico (Insular area of the United States of America) Moths Butterflies
  Saba (Special municipality of the Netherlands) Moths Butterflies
  Saint Barthélemy (Overseas collectivity of France) Moths Butterflies
  Saint Eustatius (Special municipality of the Netherlands) Moths Butterflies
  Saint Kitts and Nevis Moths Butterflies
  Saint Lucia Moths Butterflies
  Saint Martin (Overseas collectivity of France) Moths Butterflies
  Saint Pierre and Miquelon (Overseas collectivity of France) Moths Butterflies
  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Moths Butterflies
  Sint Maarten (Constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) Moths Butterflies
  Trinidad and Tobago Moths Butterflies
Butterflies of Tobago
  Turks and Caicos Islands (Overseas territory of the United Kingdom) Moths Butterflies
  United States of America Moths Butterflies
  United States Virgin Islands (Insular area of the United States of America) Moths Butterflies

South America

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Flag Country or territory Moths Butterflies
  Argentina Moths Butterflies
  Bolivia Moths Butterflies
  Brazil Moths Butterflies
  Chile Moths Butterflies
  Colombia Moths Butterflies
  Ecuador Moths Butterflies
  Falkland Islands (Overseas territory of the United Kingdom) Moths Butterflies
  French Guiana (Overseas department of France) Moths Butterflies
  Guyana Moths Butterflies
  Paraguay Moths Butterflies
  Peru Moths Butterflies
  Suriname Moths Butterflies
  Uruguay Moths Butterflies
  Venezuela Moths Butterflies

Oceania

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Flag Country or territory Moths Butterflies
  American Samoa (Insular area of the United States of America) Moths Butterflies
  Ashmore and Cartier Islands (External territory of Australia) Moths Butterflies
  Australia Moths Butterflies
Butterflies of Tasmania
Butterflies of Victoria
Butterflies of Lord Howe Island
  Baker Island (Insular area of the United States of America) Moths Butterflies
  Cook Islands (Territory in free association with New Zealand) Moths Butterflies
  Coral Sea Islands (External territory of Australia) Moths Butterflies
  Easter Island (Special Territory of Chile) Moths Butterflies
  Fiji Moths Butterflies
  French Polynesia (Overseas collectivity of France) Moths Butterflies
  Guam (Insular area of the United States of America) Moths Butterflies
  Hawaii (State of the United States of America) Moths Butterflies
  Howland Island (Insular area of the United States of America) Moths Butterflies
  Jarvis Island (Insular area of the United States of America) Moths Butterflies
  Johnston Atoll (Insular area of the United States of America) Moths Butterflies
  Kingman Reef (Insular area of the United States of America) Moths Butterflies
  Kiribati Moths Butterflies
  Marshall Islands Moths Butterflies
  Micronesia Moths Butterflies
  Midway Atoll (Insular area of the United States of America) Moths Butterflies
  Nauru Moths Butterflies
  or   New Caledonia (Sui generis collectivity or special collectivity of France) Moths Butterflies
  New Zealand Moths Butterflies
  Niue (Territory in free association with New Zealand) Moths Butterflies
  Norfolk Island (Self-governing territory of Australia) Moths Butterflies
  Northern Mariana Islands (Insular area of the United States of America) Moths Butterflies
  Palau Moths Butterflies
  Palmyra Atoll (Insular area of the United States of America) Moths Butterflies
  Papua New Guinea Moths Butterflies
  Pitcairn Islands (Overseas territory of the United Kingdom) Moths Butterflies
  Samoa Moths Butterflies
  Solomon Islands Moths Butterflies
  Tokelau (Dependent territory of New Zealand) Moths Butterflies
  Tonga Moths Butterflies
  Tuvalu Moths Butterflies
  Vanuatu Moths Butterflies
  Wake Island (Insular area of the United States of America) Moths Butterflies
  Wallis and Futuna (Overseas collectivity of France) Moths Butterflies

Antarctica

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No Lepidoptera species are known from the continent of Antarctica. However, there are records from nearby islands.

Flag Country or territory Moths Butterflies
  French Southern and Antarctic Lands (Overseas territory of France) Moths Butterflies

References

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  1. ^ Gullan, P. J.; P. S. Cranston (September 13, 2004). "7". The insects: an outline of entomology (3 ed.). Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 198–199. ISBN 1-4051-1113-5.
  2. ^ Stumpe, Felix. "Parnassius arctica Eisner, 1968". Russian-Insects.com. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
  3. ^ Mani, M. S. (1968). Ecology and Biogeography of High Altitude Insects. Volume 4 of Series entomologica. Springer. p. 530. ISBN 978-90-6193-114-0. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
  4. ^ Sherman, Lee. jsessionid=B178230AA02D37492C9794327FB8DB71?sequence=1 ""An OSU scientist braves an uncharted rainforest in a search for rare and endangered species" in "Expedition to the Edge"". Terra, Spring 2008. Oregon State University. Retrieved 14 February 2011. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  5. ^ a b Rau, P (1941). "Observations on certain lepidopterous and hymenopterous parasites of Polistes wasps". Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 34 (2): 355–366(12). doi:10.1093/aesa/34.2.355.
  6. ^ Mallet, Jim (12 June 2007). "Taxonomy of Lepidoptera: the scale of the problem". The Lepidoptera Taxome Project. University College, London. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
  7. ^ Mallet, Jim (12 June 2007). "Taxonomy of butterflies: the scale of the problem". The Lepidoptera Taxome Project. University College, London. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
  8. ^ Eaton, Eric R.; Kaufman, Kenn (2007). Kaufman field guide to insects of North America. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 391. ISBN 978-0-618-15310-7. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
  9. ^ Tuskes, Paul M.; Tuttle, James P.; Collins, Michael M. (1996). The wild silk moths of North America: a natural history of the Saturniidae of the United States and Canada. The Cornell series in arthropod biology (illustrated ed.). Cornell University Press. p. 250. ISBN 978-0-8014-3130-2. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
  10. ^ Green, Ken; Osborne, William S. (1994). Wildlife of the Australian snow-country: a comprehensive guide to alpine fauna (illustrated ed.). Reed. p. 200. ISBN 978-0-7301-0461-2.
  11. ^ Kristensen, Niels P.; Scoble, M. J. & Karsholt, Ole (2007). "Lepidoptera phylogeny and systematics: the state of inventorying moth and butterfly diversity" (PDF). In Z.-Q. Zhang & W. A. Shear (eds.). Linnaeus Tercentenary: Progress in Invertebrate Taxonomy (Zootaxa:1668). Magnolia Press. pp. 699–747. ISBN 978-0-12-690647-9. Retrieved March 2, 2010.

See also

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  • For other Lepidoptera lists, see the categories: