Larval food plants of Lepidoptera - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...

s (larvae) of Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...

species (i.e. of butterflies and moths) are mostly (though not exclusively) herbivores, often oligophagous, i.e. feeding on a narrow variety of plant

Plant

Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...

species (mostly on their leaves, but sometimes on fruits or other parts).

The dependency on specific food plants (also known as host plants) is among the key factors restricting the distribution of Lepidoptera species, although food plants of certain species may vary across different geographical populations (races). It also makes some of them important pests in agriculture or forestry. As such studies require meticulous observation and experimentation, for many Lepidoptera species food plants have not yet been identified, and even for the most common European and North American species there is often some minor disagreement over the exact selection of plants suitable to them. Adult females normally lay their eggs on or near specific food plants (which often have to be abundant enough). Larvae can't feed and end up starved to death if provided with unsuitable plants on purpose, but the choice of plant species suitable for different Lepidoptera in experimentation is often wider than the choice of plants on which their eggs are laid in nature. Closely related Lepidoptera tend to have similar food plant preferences. Many caterpillars sequester the toxins from their food plants and use them as a defense against predators. Though it is common for Lepidoptera to prefer a certain plant genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

or family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

, some species feed on a narrow selection of unrelated taxa. The choice is unrelated to nectar plant preferences of adult Lepidoptera, which are much less strict.

Lists

List of Lepidoptera that feed on Abelia
List of Lepidoptera that feed on Achillea
List of Lepidoptera that feed on alders
List of Lepidoptera that feed on Artemisia
List of Lepidoptera that feed on ashes
List of Lepidoptera that feed on Aster
List of Lepidoptera that feed on Atriplex
List of Lepidoptera that feed on beeches
List of Lepidoptera that feed on beets
List of Lepidoptera that feed on birches
List of Lepidoptera that feed on Brassica
List of Lepidoptera that feed on brooms
List of Lepidoptera that feed on buckthorns
List of Lepidoptera that feed on Buddleja
List of Lepidoptera that feed on Calluna
List of Lepidoptera that feed on Camellia
List of Lepidoptera that feed on Centaurea
List of Lepidoptera that feed on Chenopodium
List of Lepidoptera that feed on chestnut trees
List of Lepidoptera that feed on chrysanthemums
List of Lepidoptera that feed on Cirsium
List of Lepidoptera that feed on clovers
List of Lepidoptera that feed on cotton plants
List of Lepidoptera that feed on currants
List of Lepidoptera that feed on dandelions
List of Lepidoptera that feed on elms
List of Lepidoptera that feed on Eucalyptus
List of Lepidoptera that feed on Galium
List of Lepidoptera that feed on goldenrods
List of Lepidoptera that feed on grapevines
List of Lepidoptera that feed on grasses
List of Lepidoptera that feed on hawthorns
List of Lepidoptera that feed on hazels
List of Lepidoptera that feed on Helianthus
List of Lepidoptera that feed on honeysuckles
List of Lepidoptera that feed on Ipomoea
List of Lepidoptera that feed on Juncus
List of Lepidoptera that feed on larches
List of Lepidoptera that feed on lettuces
List of Lepidoptera that feed on Lotus
List of Lepidoptera that feed on Malus
List of Lepidoptera that feed on maples
List of Lepidoptera that feed on oaks
List of Lepidoptera that feed on pear trees
List of Lepidoptera that feed on pines
List of Lepidoptera that feed on plantains
List of Lepidoptera that feed on Polygonum
List of Lepidoptera that feed on poplars
List of Lepidoptera that feed on Potentilla
List of Lepidoptera that feed on Prunus
List of Lepidoptera that feed on ragweeds
List of Lepidoptera that feed on rhododendrons
List of Lepidoptera that feed on roses
List of Lepidoptera that feed on Rubus
List of Lepidoptera that feed on Rumex
List of Lepidoptera that feed on Senecio
List of Lepidoptera that feed on Silene
List of Lepidoptera that feed on Solanum
List of Lepidoptera that feed on Sorbus
List of Lepidoptera that feed on spruces
List of Lepidoptera that feed on strawberry plants
List of Lepidoptera that feed on Tilia
List of Lepidoptera that feed on Vaccinium
List of Lepidoptera that feed on Viburnum
List of Lepidoptera that feed on willows

External links

HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants. By Gaden S. Robinson, Phillip R. Ackery, Ian J. Kitching, George W. Beccaloni and Luis M. Hernández @ Natural History Museum
Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, England . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road...

, London.
Larval food plant information sorted by plant. Compiled by Markku Savela.

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