Knock Knock, it's [Extreme Cuddling]

Lepidoptera is one of the most widespread, widely recognizable, and most popular insect orders in the world. About 180,000 species of Lepidopterans have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organisms.

Out of 100 bug type Pokémon, a quarter of them are based solely on Lepidopterans. These are Caterpie, Metapod, Butterfree, Venomoth, Pineco, Wurmple, Silcoon, Beautifly, Cascoon, Dustox, 3 forms of Burmy, 3 forms of Wormadam, Mothim, Larvesta, Volcarona, Scatterbug, Spewpa, Vivillon, Snom, Frosmoth, and Slither Wing. (This is an overwhelming number of Lepidopteran Pokémon, as there are only 16 Coleopterans [including megas, apparently], and 6 Hymenopterans in the Pokémon universe so far, a stark contrast to our reality! )

Lepidopterans first appeared in the fossil record in the Triassic-Jurassic boundary and coevolved with flowering plants since the angiosperms first began to bloom in the Middle/Late Cretaceous.

Limacodidae (“slug caterpillar moths”). The caterpillars are doing all sorts of things. The adults are fully stanced up. There’s just a lot going on here.

Among the most northern dwelling species of butterflies and moths is the Siberian Apollo (Parnassius arcticus), which is found in the Arctic Circle in northeastern Yakutia, at an altitude of 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) above sea level. In the Himalayas, various Apollo species such as the Common Red Apollo (Parnassius epaphus) have been recorded to occur up to an altitude of 6,000 metres (20,000 ft) above sea level.

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 (suborder Folivora). These moths live off of the algae that grows on the fur of sloths, eating enough for it to not become cumbersome, but not so much that the sloth loses its camouflage. In fact, the moth’s droppings enhance the algae growth, thus enhancing the sloth’s camouflage, as well as generating a self-sustaining “garden” that will feed itself and ensure the health of its next generation.

Moths are able to hear the range emitted by bats, which in effect causes flying moths to make evasive maneuvers to avoid their main predators. Ultrasonic frequencies trigger a reflex action in Owlet Moths (family Noctuidae) that will cause it to drop a few inches in its flight to evade attack from bats. Tiger Moths (tribe Arctiini) emit defensive clicks within the same range of bats, which interfere with the bats and foil their attempts to echolocate it.

Artistic depictions of butterflies have been used in many cultures including as early as 3500 years ago, in Egyptian hieroglyphs.

The Monarch subspecies Danaus plexippus plexippus migrates each autumn to overwintering sites near the west coast of California or mountainous sites in central Mexico. This massive movement of butterflies has been recognized as "one of the most spectacular natural phenomena in the world". The subspecies was categorized as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2022, as it has declined anywhere between 23 and 72 percent in the past 10 years. There is concern that the migration of the eastern North American population may be at risk. Studies have shown that this is mainly due to the loss of critical milkweed habitat, as native milkweed is the host plant for monarch caterpillars, and more croplands are using herbicides to control “weeds”.

The Domestic Silk Moth (Bombyx mori) is the domesticated form of the Wild Silk Moth (Bombyx mandarina), and one of the few truly domesticated insects. The caterpillars, called silkworms, are entirely dependent on humans for reproduction, as a result of millennia of selective breeding, and the adults are no longer capable of flight. Silkworms are a primary producer of silk, which is collected from their cocoons. Silkworms are also sometimes used as feeder insects for pet reptiles or invertebrates, as food for humans, or can be kept as pets themselves.

Sphinx Moths (family Sphingidae) are some of the fastest flying insects: some are capable of flying at over 50 kilometres per hour (31 mph), having a wingspan of 35–150 millimetres (1.4–5.9 in). They have a hovering, hummingbird-like flight, and can fly both forward and backward.

Neuropterans evolved in the Permian, and convergently evolved many of the traits some of the more famous insect orders today had first. Specifically, the extinct family Kalligrammatidae, often called "the butterflies of the Jurassic", had large, patterned wings long before butterflies evolved, and the mantidflies (family Mantispidae) (image 2) have been around since the early Jurassic, sporting raptorial forelimbs before the mantises (order Mantodea) arrived in the late Jurassic. However, following the K–Pg Extinction Event, the diversity of neuropterans has declined.

Adult Green Lacewings (family Chrysopidae) (image 1) have tympanal organs at their forewings' base, enabling them to hear well. Some Chrysopa species show evasive behavior when they hear a bat's ultrasound calls: when in flight, they close their wings (making their echolocation signature smaller) and drop down to the ground. Green lacewings also use substrate or body vibrations as a form of communication between themselves, especially during courtship.

Green Lacewings lay their eggs one by one, each mounted on a slender stalk about 1 cm long, usually on the underside of a leaf, wherever aphids are present. Immediately after hatching, the larvae moult, then crawl up the egg stalk to feed on the nearby prey. Green lacewing larvae are colloquially known as "aphid lions" (also spelled "aphidlions") or "aphid wolves". Depending on species and environmental conditions, some green lacewings may eat only about 150 prey items in their entire lives, but in other cases they can eat 100 aphids in just a single week. Their performance is variable, but there is interest in further research to improve the use of green lacewings as biological pest control.

Some Chrysopa species are sometimes referred to as “stinkflies”, due to a defense mechanism that enables them to release a vile smell from paired prothoracic glands when threatened.

The Spongillaflies (family Sisyridae) have a unique life cycle. At first glance, the aquatic larvae have spindly legs on a bulky thorax, long antennae, and flexible, threadlike mouthparts. However, they carry seven pairs of jointed, movable tracheal gills beneath their plump abdomen. This type of gill is possessed by no other living insect family. Spongillafly larvae use their unique threadlike mouthparts to parasitize Spongillidae freshwater sponges (of the genus Spongilla, hence the name "spongillaflies") and Phylactolaemata freshwater bryozoans by stinging into the host animals' body and sucking out cell contents. They will feed for several weeks to one year, before leaving the water to find a damp, hidden place on land to make their cocoon. Adult spongillaflies are omnivores, mainly scavenging on carrion, but also feeding on pollen and honeydew, as well as hunting small invertebrates.

The Wasp Mantidfly (Climaciella brunnea) mimics paper wasps not only in looks but also in behavior: when disturbed it will curl its abdomen beneath itself, mimicking a stinging wasp. If that doesn’t work, it will hold the tip of its abdomen vertically and move itself in a back and forth motion, displaying its striking coloration.

Many neuropteran larvae are known for being specialized predators, but none quite so famous as antlion (family Myrmeleontidae) larvae, sometimes called “doodlebugs”, because of the spiraling marks they leave in the sand. Antlion larvae have a large, plump abdomen and long, venomous mandibles (see gif above). They are covered in forward-pointing bristles which help them to anchor their abdomens in the substrate, and exert greater traction, enabling them to subdue prey considerably larger than themselves. Larvae are ambush predators and, depending on the species, they will either hide and wait for prey under leaves, debris, pieces of wood, in cracks, or they will build a funnel-shaped pit trap. As ambush predators, catching prey is risky because food arrives unpredictably and, for those species that make traps, maintaining one is costly. The larvae therefore have low metabolic rates and can survive for many months without food. They can take several years to complete their life-cycle, but mature faster with plentiful food. Once the larvae attains maximum size, it will spin a cocoon of substrate and fine silk from its spinneret. After completing its transformation into an adult insect over the course of about one month, it emerges from the case. Adult antlions resemble large, nocturnal dragonflies, and generally do not live as long as their larval forms, typically living for about 25 days, but some adults survive for as long as 45 days. Adult antlions are much larger than their larval form, however, and exhibit the greatest disparity in size between larva and adult of any type of holometabolous insect.

Antlion larvae are unusual among insects in lacking an anus. All the metabolic waste generated during the larval stage is stored for later. Some is used to spin the silk for its cocoon and the rest is eventually voided as meconium at the end of its pupal stage (ie. they reach adulthood and the first thing they do is take the biggest poop of their life).

Antlion larvae have attracted attention throughout history and antlions have been mentioned in literature since classical times. The Myrmecoleon was a mythical ant–lion hybrid written about in the 2nd century AD Physiologus, where animal descriptions were paired with Christian morals, and is possibly derived from a mistranslation in the Septuagint version of the book of Job. In Japan, both the antlion and its pit-traps are popularly known as Arijigoku (蟻地獄; lit. "Ant Hell"). This term has since become a stock colloquialism for any "inescapable" trap, whether literal or metaphorical (e.g. an unpleasant social obligation). Antlions appear as antagonists in the 1991 life simulation video game, SimAnt, and (in a giant form) in the Final Fantasy series, Grounded, Terraria, Don't Starve Together, Monster Rancher 2, Mother 3, and in the Half-Life 2 video game series as an unrelated alien insect species sharing sand-burrowing traits with antlion larvae. The Trapinch, Vibrava, and Flygon Pokémon evolution line is based on the antlion. The fictional sarlacc from the Star Wars franchise is thought to be based on the antlion. It also appears as a predator in the film Enemy Mine.

While antlions are more famous, their cousins, the owlflies (family Ascalaphidae) (image 3) also have ambush-hunting, predatory larvae. Owlfly larvae resemble antlion larvae, but have elongate, sometimes finger-like appendages on the side of each of their abdominal segments, helping break up their silhouette and better camouflage them against their surroundings, usually against leaves, tree bark, or substrate. In some genera, larvae actively place sand and debris onto their back as self-decoration camouflage. Uniquely for neuropterans, which tend to be poor fliers, adult owlflies fill a similar niche as dragonflies, being fast-flying aerial predators which capture and feed on other insects in flight. Both larvae and adult owlflies are important in maintaining a natural ecological balance and helping to control pest insects.

Most hymenopterans are parasitoids, feeding on nectar or other plant material as adults but living as parasites as larvae. Adult females have a special ovipositor for inserting eggs into hosts or places that are otherwise inaccessible. In some species, this ovipositor is often modified into a venomous stinger (thus, only female hymenopterans are capable of stinging). The sting is typically used to immobilize prey, but some wasps (including ants and bees) may use it in defense.

The Cedar Wood Wasp (Syntexis libocedrii) is the only living species in the family Anaxyelidae, though the family has an extensive Mesozoic fossil record, making it a “living fossil”. The Cedar Wood Wasp has the strange behavior of greatly favoring ovipositing in recently burnt incense-cedar (Calocedrus), red cedar (Thuja) or juniper (Juniperus). The wood is often still smoldering while the wasp is laying its eggs, and the larvae develop in the warm, burnt wood. The Cedar Wood Wasp occurs from the mountains of central California to southern British Columbia, but is very rarely seen, except by firefighters.

The parasitoid Tick Wasp (Ixodiphagus hookeri) has been investigated for its potential to control tick populations. It lays its eggs in ticks, and the hatching wasps kill their hosts.

The smallest known insect is Dicopomorpha echmepterygis, a Fairy Wasp from the family Mymaridae. D. echmepterygis males are blind, apterous, and their body length is only 40% that of females, with a body length averaging 186 μm… smaller than certain species of Paramecium, amoeba, and shorter than certain bacteria (Thiomargarita magnifica), all of which are single-celled organisms. The measured body length of a female was 550 μm. D. echmepterygis males have relatively long legs and are dull grayish brown, with small heads that lack compound eyes, and unsegmented antennae. Females, however, have entirely black bodies with dusky brown legs and antennae. The antennae are twice as long as the males, and females have fully-functional wings that are narrowed slightly through the middle. The wasps parasitize the eggs of the bark louse Echmepteryx hageni. Adult males appear to mate with their sisters inside the host egg and die without ever leaving the egg. …follow bestanimal for more Bug Sex Facts.

Little is known about the family Trigonalidae, but what is known indicates a remarkably improbable life history: in nearly all known species, females lay thousands of minute eggs, "clamping" them to the edges of, or injecting them inside leaves. The egg must then be consumed by a caterpillar. Once inside the caterpillar, the trigonalid egg either hatches and attacks any other parasitoid larvae (including its siblings) inside the caterpillar, or it waits until the caterpillar is killed and fed to a vespid larva, which it then attacks and feeds on. If the caterpillar is neither attacked by another parasitoid nor fed to a vespid, the trigonalid larva fails to develop. Therefore, they are parasitoids or hyperparasitoids, but in a manner unique among all insects, in that the eggs must be swallowed by a host, and even more unusual in that there may be an intermediate host.

In the eusocial wasp subfamilies Polistinae and Vespinae, both adults and larvae feed each other. While adults typically feed on nectar and other fluids, they will bring chewed up protein sources, such as insect prey, back to the larvae of the colony. Prey are chewed up and fed to the larvae, which in return, produce a clear liquid (with high amino acid content) for the adults to consume; the exact amino acid composition varies considerably among species, but it is considered to contribute substantially to adult nutrition.

Ants (family Formicidae) are derived eusocial wasps identified by their elbowed antennae and distinctive node-like structure that forms their slender waists. Ants form colonies that range in size from a few dozen individuals often living in small natural cavities, to highly organised colonies that may occupy large territories with a sizeable nest (or nests) that can reach hundreds of millions of individuals in super colonies. Typical colonies consist of various castes of sterile, wingless females, most of which are workers (ergates), as well as soldiers (dinergates) and other specialised groups. Nearly all ant colonies also have some fertile males called "drones" and one or more fertile females called "queens" (gynes). Ant societies have division of labour, communication between individuals, and an ability to solve complex problems. Some ant colonies are peaceful farmers of fungi, hemipterans, and Lycaenid caterpillars, while others are conquering warriors that kill or even enslave other ant colonies.

Trap-jaw Ants of the genus Odontomachus are equipped with mandibles called trap-jaws, which snap shut faster than any other predatory appendages within the animal kingdom. One study of Odontomachus bauri recorded peak speeds of between 126 and 230 km/h (78 and 143 mph), with the jaws closing within 130 microseconds on average. The ants were also observed to use their jaws as a catapult to eject intruders or fling themselves backward to escape a threat.

(suicide cw) A Malaysian species of ant in the Camponotus cylindricus group has enlarged mandibular glands that extend into their gaster. If combat takes a turn for the worse, a worker may perform a final act of suicidal altruism by rupturing the membrane of its gaster, causing the content of its mandibular glands to burst from the anterior region of its head, spraying a poisonous, corrosive secretion containing acetophenones and other chemicals that immobilise surrounding insect attackers. The worker subsequently dies, hopefully taking the surrounding attackers with it. (/suicide cw)

Ants may be the only group apart from mammals where interactive teaching has been observed. A more knowledgeable Rock Ant (Temnothorax albipennis) forager will lead a naïve nest-mate to newly discovered food by the process of tandem running. The follower obtains knowledge through its tutor. The leader is acutely sensitive to the progress of the follower and slows down when the follower lags and speeds up when the follower gets too close.

Leafcutter ants (Atta and Acromyrmex) feed exclusively on a fungus that grows only within their colonies. They continually collect leaves which are taken to the colony, cut into tiny pieces, and placed in fungal gardens. Workers specialise in related tasks according to their sizes. The largest ants cut stalks, smaller workers chew the leaves, and the smallest tend the fungus. Leafcutter ants are sensitive enough to recognise the reaction of the fungus to different plant material, apparently detecting chemical signals from the fungus. If a particular type of leaf is found to be toxic to the fungus, the colony will no longer collect it. The ants feed on structures produced by the fungi called gongylidia. Symbiotic bacteria on the exterior surface of the ants produce antibiotics that kill bacteria introduced into the nest that may harm the fungi.

The Western Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) is the most common of the 7–12 species of honey bees worldwide, and was one of the first domesticated insects, likely first domesticated in ancient Egypt, where tomb paintings depict beekeeping before 2600 BC. It is the primary species maintained by beekeepers to this day, often kept in orchards and on farms both for pollination and for honey collection. Unfortunately, this has also led it to spread far outside its native range and become possibly invasive in some areas, and it often competes with native bees for resources when not kept within the farmlands it was bred to pollinate.

It is estimated that one third of the human food supply depends on pollination by insects, birds and bats, most of which is accomplished by bees, whether wild or domesticated.

There is a common misconception that bees "violate aerodynamic theory" (a misconception quoted quite often thanks to a certain movie). However, the truth is that bees do not engage in fixed-wing flight, but their flight is explained by other mechanics similar to those used by helicopters. In 1996 it was shown that vortices created by many insects' wings helped to provide lift. High-speed cinematography and robotic mock-up of a bee wing showed that lift was generated by "the unconventional combination of short, choppy wing strokes, a rapid rotation of the wing as it flops over and reverses direction, and a very fast wing-beat frequency". Wing-beat frequency normally increases as size decreases, but as the bee's wing beat covers such a small arc, it flaps approximately 230 times per second, faster than a fruitfly (200 times per second) which is 80 times smaller.

Bees and honey were sacred in Ancient Greece. Honey, according to a Greek myth, was discovered by a nymph called Melissa ("Bee"); and honey was offered to the Greek gods from Mycenean times. Bees were also associated with the Delphic oracle and the prophetess was sometimes called a bee.

The Schmidt sting pain index is a pain scale rating the relative pain caused by different hymenopteran stings. It is mainly the work of Justin O. Schmidt, who was an entomologist at the Carl Hayden Bee Research Center in Arizona. Schmidt classified the stings of 78 species and 41 genera of Hymenoptera, rating their level of pain, starting from 0 for stings that are completely ineffective against humans, progressing through 2 for familiar pains such as those caused by common bee or wasp stings, and finishing at 4 for the most painful stings. Only the Bullet Ant (Paraponera clavata), the Pepsine Spider Wasp (Pepsis grossa), and the Northern Warrior Wasp (Synoeca septentrionalis) ever achieved a 4 rating.