Lepidoptera

Taxonomic placing: Insecta, Holometabola.

Common name: Butterflies and moths.

A very large order of insects, of over 150.000 named species, that includes the butterflies and moths. The adult bears two pairs of membranous wings and is covered with scales. It has sucking mouthparts in the form of a proboscis, feeding on nutricious liquid sources like nectar, fruit juice and honeydew. The larvae, commonly termed caterpillars, possess chewing mouthparts and (usually) six pairs of abdominal prolegs. In some families, like the (Geometridae and Plusiinae) there are only one, two or three pairs. Only the larvae damage crops.

Middle Eastern plant pests belong to the families