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lepidopteran

  (lĕp'ĭ-dŏp'tər-ən) pronunciation
n.

An insect belonging to the large order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths, characterized by four membranous wings covered with small scales.

[From New Latin Lepidoptera, order name : LEPIDO– + Greek ptera, pl. of pteron, wing, winged creature; see –pter.]

lepidopteran lep'i·dop'ter·an or lep'i·dop'ter·ous adj.
 
 
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: lepidopteran

Any of the more than 155,000 species constituting the order Lepidoptera (Greek: "scaly wing"): butterflies, moths, and skippers. The name refers to the dusting of minute scales that covers the wings and bodies of these insects. A slender proboscis is used for sucking. Nearly all lepidopterans are plant eaters, and species are found on every continent except Antarctica. Females may lay from a few to a thousand or more eggs at a time. All lepidopterans undergo complete metamorphosis. Many types move from one region to another, sometimes crossing thousands of miles of ocean, but the only species that truly migrates — the same individuals making a two-way flight — is the monarch butterfly.

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WordNet: lepidopteran
Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: insect that in the adult state has four wings more or less covered with tiny scales
  Synonyms: lepidopterous insect, lepidopteron

 
 

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Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.  Read more

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