#lepidoptera vocabulary

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Some Zoology Vocabulary

for your next poem/story

Aestivation - A period of summer dormancy. Summer dormancy is often exhibited by animals when conditions become unfavourable.

Anthroponosis - An infection or disease that is transmissible from humans to animals under natural conditions.

Arboreal - Used to describe an animal that lives in trees. There are many different arboreal invertebrates including species of ant, tarantula, stick insect and many different species of moth and butterfly.

Book lungs - The main respiratory organ in most arachnids (spiders and scorpions); get their name from the fact that the stacked plates have the appearance of the closed pages of a book.

Coelom - Fluid-filled cavity within the body of an animal; usually refers to a cavity lined with specialized tissue peritoneum in which the gut is suspended.

Eyespots - Markings on an insect, usually on the surface of the fore or hind wings, that resemble a mammalian eye; used to scare off potential predators by making the insect appear to be part of a much larger organism. In some species the eyespots are concealed when at rest but can be 'flashed' at a predator in an attempt to scare them away.

Haemolymph - Insect blood and is the fluid that fills the haemoceol; transfers nutrients from the insect gut to the organs, takes away waste and also transmits hormones.

Hypogeic - Describes organisms that live underground (usually within the soil).

Lepidopterist - An entomologist who specialises in studying butterflies and moths. The name lepidopterist is derived from the name of the Order of butterflies and moths, Lepidoptera.

Osculum - The main opening through which filtered water is discharged. Found in sponges.

Parapodia - A sort of "false foot" formed by extension of the body cavity. Polychaetes and some insect larvae have parapodia in addition to their legs, and these provide extra help in locomotion.

Saproxylic - Describes invertebrates that are dependent on dead or decaying wood (or dependent on other organisms that are themselves dependent on dead wood). These invertebrates may not be dependent on the wood for their entire life cycle but at least some stage is dependent on wood. A good example of this are the larvae of some beetles that feed on decaying wood. The adults may feed on other things (such as nectar).

Thanatosis - "Playing dead"; displayed by many species of insect when they feel threatened by a potential predator. The insect will often fall to the ground and tuck in any protruding legs or antennae. The insect will remain like this for some time, even when prodded or poked by the predator. Some time after the predator has lost interest the insect will start moving again and make its escape. It is commonly found among the beetles - ladybirds are particularly good at 'playing dead'.

Venation - The arrangement (number and position) of veins within an insect's wing; often used as a way of differentiating between species. In early insects, the veins running down the wing (longitudinal veins) were connected by a series of cross veins. Most insect groups have lost, or dramatically reduced the number of, these cross veins. However, some insects such as dragonflies and damselflies have wings that contain many cross veins.

Xylophagous - Describes animals that feed almost exclusively on wood. Insect examples of such animals include furniture beetles and death watch beetle.

Sources: 1 2 3 ⚜ More: Word Lists

[skeletal-hopes]

Name: Metis Axu'zya

Birthday: November 13th { 66 lepidopian years = 330 earth years }

Alias: Grand Admiral Metis { current general title } Obsidian Pyre { former executioner title } Her Majesty Merciless Metis { AU queen title }

Kin: His Majesty King Great Paradise { younger half-brother } 
Rueste { younger half-sister } 
Prometheus { younger fullblood brother } Her Majesty Forevermore Fliona { mother | former queen }

Bio: Metis is a lax and mildly amiable moth who is often found sleeping in her hammock with a couple wine bottles lying around. At twenty feet tall and weighing as much as a giraffe at six thousand pounds, Metis is merely the third largest moth there is on Lepidoptera. Metis tends to be very social with others and offer drinks for anybody up to banter with her. She has a rather vulgar vocabulary that some may find off putting but she will attempt to speak clean when present around children. While she understands that people are skittish due to her great size, she doesn’t let the fact stop her from greeting new faces.

History: Born to Queen Fliona and a noblemoth, Metis and her siblings went through body augmentation that exponentially enhanced their body mass and strength. Many siblings, including her triplet sisters Hera and Athena, perished in the horrific genetic experiment. Her mother, Queen Fliona, used her mental manipulation on Metis into becoming her personal executioner, oppressing insurgents and enforcing obedience into lepidopians. When Paradise and Prometheus arrived to Lepidoptera, Metis’s loyalty to the Queen wavered as she began to realize she would lose her brothers just as she lost her sisters. When she broke free from Queen Fliona’s control, Metis aided her siblings in ending their mother’s tyrannical reign.

Occupation: Now with her brother Paradise being the first king of their species, Metis is keen to retire from fighting altogether and relax in the peaceful reign of King Paradise. While she was given the occupation of King Paradise’s Grand Admiral of his army due to her battle experience, her brother wishes to diminish the presence of military force in his harmonic rule. Metis and the army are tasked with helping civilians in natural disasters and rebuilding homes.

[chicagobotanicgarden]

Speaking of Lepidoptera: Understanding butterfly vocabulary

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The vocabulary surrounding Lepidoptera can be very specific—and not so easy to understand. Let’s break it down, and go over some of my favorite butterfly and moth terminology (and learn some of the amazing things these insects do). Then, see if you…