Editing Butterfly (section)

==Taxonomy and phylogeny==

{{further|Taxonomy of the Lepidoptera}}

Butterflies are divided into seven families that contain a total of about 20,000 species.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Butterfly families
! Family !! Common name || Characteristics || Image
|-
| [[Hedylidae]] || American moth-butterflies || Small, brown, like [[Geometridae|geometrid moths]]; [[Antenna (biology)|antennae]] not clubbed; long slim abdomen || [[File:Macrosoma sp (Hedylidae) (15273846876).jpg|100px]] 
|-
| [[Hesperiidae]] || Skippers || Small, darting flight; clubs on antennae hooked backwards || [[File:Hesperia comma-01 (xndr).jpg|100px]]
|-
| [[Lycaenidae]] || Blues, coppers, hairstreaks || Small, brightly coloured; often have false heads with eyespots and small tails resembling antennae || [[File:Maculinea arion Large Blue Upperside SFrance 2009-07-18.jpg|100px]]
|-
| [[Nymphalidae]] || Brush-footed or four-footed butterflies || Usually have reduced forelegs, so appear four-legged; often brightly coloured || [[File:AD2009Aug01 Vanessa atalanta 01.jpg|100px]]
|-
| [[Papilionidae]] || Swallowtails || Often have 'tails' on wings; caterpillar generates foul taste with [[osmeterium]] organ; pupa supported by silk girdle || [[File:Papilio troilus01.jpg|100px]] 
|-
| [[Pieridae]] || Whites and allies || Mostly white, yellow or orange; some serious pests of ''[[Brassica]]''; pupa supported by silk girdle || [[File:Large white spread wings.jpg|100px]]
|-
| [[Riodinidae]] || Metalmarks|| Often have metallic spots on wings; often conspicuously coloured with black, orange and blue || [[File:RhetusButterfly.jpg|100px]] 
|}

Traditionally, butterflies have been divided into the superfamilies [[Papilionoidea]] and the moth-like [[Hedyloidea]]. Recent work has discovered that Hedylidae, the only family within Hedyloidea, is nested within the Papilionoidea, meaning that Papilionoidea would be [[synonym (taxonomy)|synonymous]] with Rhopalocera. The relationships between the rest of the 6 families are extremely well resolved, which is summarized in the below cladogram.<ref name=":0"></ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1 = Heikkilä |first1 = M. |last2 = Kaila |first2 = L. |last3 = Mutanen |first3 = M. |last4 = Peña |first4 = C. |last5 = Wahlberg |first5 = N. |year = 2012 |title = Cretaceous Origin and Repeated Tertiary Diversification of the Redefined Butterflies |journal = Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |volume = 279 |issue = 1731| pages = 1093–1099 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2011.1430 |pmid=21920981 |pmc=3267136}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Espeland, Marriane |display-authors=etal |title=A Comprehensive and Dated Phylogenomic Analysis of Butterflies |journal=Current Biology |date=5 March 2018 |volume=28 |issue=5 |pages=770–778 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2018.01.061 |pmid=29456146 |bibcode=2018CBio...28E.770E |url=https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(18)30094-0|hdl=10072/384394 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

{{clade
|label1='''Papilionoidea'''
|1={{clade
   |label1=
   |1=[[Papilionidae]] [[File:Parides aeneas didas MHNT dos.jpg|60px]]
   |2={{clade
      |label1=
      |1={{clade
         |label1=
         |1=[[Hedylidae]] [[File:Macrosoma leucophasiata transparent.png|60px]]
         |2=[[Hesperiidae]] [[File:Carterocephalus silvicola transparent.png|70px]]
         }}
      |2={{clade
         |label1=
         |1=[[Pieridae]] [[File:Aid to the identification of insects (Plate 12) (6025815459) Thyca berinda.png|Aid_to_the_identification_of_insects_(Plate_12)_(6025815459)_Thyca_berinda|60px]]
         |2={{clade
            |label1=
            |1=[[Nymphalidae]] [[File:Danaus plexippus-transparent.png|Danaus_plexippus-transparent|60px]]
            |2={{clade
               |label1=
               |1=[[Lycaenidae]] [[File:Maculinea arion transparent.png|60px]]
               |2=[[Riodinidae]] [[File:Detritivora barnesi transparent.png|60px]]
               }}
            }}
         }}
      }}
   }}
}}