From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Butterfly evolution began when butterflies likely descended down an evolutionary tree that followed a path from lamp shells to bryozoans to mollusks to segmented worms and then, eventually, butterflies. The order Lepidoptera may be the most recently evolved of all insect orders, except for fleas. One family, that contains the mission blue, Lycaenidae, is divided into three subfamilies: Theolinae (hairstreaks), Lycaeninae (coppers), and Icaricia (blues). Butterflies first dispersed through North America at a time when South America still touched Africa and Europe was still attached to the northern part of the North American continent. It was this geographic setup that allowed butterflies to spread throughout the world.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ Excerpts from: Zimmer, Deiter E. A Guide to Nabokov's Butterflies and Moths, Penn State University Libraries
