Editing Lepidoptera (section)

==== Migration ====
{{Main|Lepidoptera migration}}
[[File:Monarch butterflies in Santa Cruz-11.jpg|left|thumb|[[Monarch (butterfly)|Monarch butterflies]], seen in a cluster in [[Santa Cruz, California|Santa Cruz]], [[California]], where the western population migrates for the winter]]

Lepidopteran migration is typically [[season]]al, as the insects moving to escape dry seasons or other disadvantageous conditions. Most lepidopterans that migrate are butterflies, and the distance travelled varies. Some butterflies that migrate include the [[mourning cloak]], [[painted lady]], [[American lady]], [[Vanessa atalanta|red admiral]], and the [[common buckeye]].<ref name="Dole"/>{{rp|29–30}} A notable species of moth that migrates long distances is the [[bogong moth]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Warrant |first1=Eric |last2=Frost |first2=Barrie |author2-link=Barrie Frost |last3=Green |first3=Ken |last4=Mouritsen |first4=Henrik |last5=Dreyer |first5=David |last6=Adden |first6=Andrea |last7=Brauburger |first7=Kristina |last8=Heinze |first8=Stanley |year=2016 |title=The Australian Bogong Moth ''Agrotis infusa'': A Long-Distance Nocturnal Navigator |journal=Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience |volume=10 |page=77 |doi=10.3389/fnbeh.2016.00077|pmid=27147998 |pmc=4838632 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The most well-known migrations are those of the eastern population of the [[monarch butterfly]] from Mexico to northern United States and southern Canada, a distance of about {{convert|4000|-|4800|km|abbr=on}}. Other well-known migratory species include the painted lady and several of the [[Danainae|danaine]] butterflies. Spectacular and large-scale migrations associated with the [[monsoons]] are seen in peninsular India.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Williams, C. B. |year=1927 |title=A study of butterfly migration in south India and Ceylon, based largely on records by Messrs. G. Evershed, E. E. Green, J. C. F. Fryer and W. Ormiston |journal=[[Transactions of the Royal Entomological Society of London]] |volume=75 |issue=1 |pages=1–33 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2311.1927.tb00054.x}}</ref> Migrations have been studied in more recent times using wing tags and stable hydrogen isotopes.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Urquhart, F. A.  |author2=N. R. Urquhart |year=1977 |title=Overwintering areas and migratory routes of the Monarch butterfly (''Danaus p. plexippus'', Lepidoptera: Danaidae) in North America, with special reference to the western population |journal=[[Canadian Entomologist]] |volume=109 |issue=12 |pages=1583–1589 |doi=10.4039/ent1091583-12|s2cid=86198255 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1073/pnas.95.26.15436 |author1=Wassenaar L. I. |author2=K. A. Hobson |year=1998 |title=Natal origins of migratory monarch butterflies at wintering colonies in Mexico: new isotopic evidence |journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences]] |volume=95 |issue=26 |pages=15436–15439 |pmid=9860986 |pmc=28060|bibcode = 1998PNAS...9515436W |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Moths also undertake migrations, an example being the [[Uraniidae|uraniids]]. ''[[Urania fulgens]]'' undergoes population explosions and massive migrations that may be not surpassed by any other insect in the [[Neotropic]]s. In [[Costa Rica]] and [[Panama]], the first population movements may begin in July and early August and depending on the year, may be very massive, continuing unabated for as long as five months.<ref name="Smith N. G. ">{{Cite book |last1=Smith |first1=N. G. |editor-last=Janzen |editor-first= D. H. |title=''Urania fulgens'' (Calipato Verde, Green Urania) |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |location=Chicago |year=1983 |series=Costa Rican Natural History |page=816}}</ref>