Category
page 1Neolepidoptera
Heteroneura
Heteroneura is a natural group (or clade) in the insect order Lepidoptera that comprises over 99% of all butterflies and moths. This is the sister group of the infraorder Exoporia (swift moths and their relatives), and is characterised by wing venation which is not similar or homoneurous in both pairs of wings. Though basal groups within the Heteroneura cannot be identified with much confidence, one major subgroup is the leaf-mining Nepticuloidea. Species in this subgroup include some of the smallest lepidopterans identified.
Exoporia
The Exoporia are a group of primitive Lepidoptera comprising the superfamilies Mnesarchaeoidea and Hepialoidea. They are a natural group or clade. Exoporia is the sister group of the lepidopteran infraorder Heteroneura. They are characterised by their unique female reproductive system which has an external groove between the ostium bursae and the ovipore by which the sperm is transferred to the egg rather than having the mating and egg-laying parts of the abdomen with a common opening (cloaca) as in other nonditrysian moths, or with separate openings linked internally by a "ductus seminalis" a
Neolepidoptera
Neolepidoptera () is a clade within Myoglossata in suborder Glossata of order Lepidoptera, the butterflies and moths. They differ from other Myoglossata in the larval stage abdominal prolegs, pupal morphology, and the mandibles are reduced in area. They also differ in their reproductive systems. The prolegs have muscles and apical hooklets. The reproductive organs have two openings. There are also differences in the wing structure. The pupae are "incomplete or obtect."