page_title: Butterfly
section_title: Thorax
hierarchical_section_title: Butterfly / Body / Thorax
caption_attribution_description: English: Wing detail of Inachis io. Français&#160;: Détail de l'aile d'un Paon du jour (Inachis io).
context_page_description: A butterfly is a usually day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera. They are grouped together in the suborder Rhopalocera. Butterflies are closely related to moths, from which they evolved. The earliest discovered fossil moth dates to 200 million years ago.
  The life of butterflies is closely connected to flowering plants, which their larvae feed on, and their adults feed and lay their eggs on. They have a long-lasting history of co-evolution with flowering plants. Many of the details of plant anatomy are related to their pollinators, and vice versa. The other notable features of butterflies are their extraordinary range of colours and patterns, and their wings. These are discussed below.
  Angiosperms evolved in the Lower Cretaceous, but did not become common until the Upper Cretaceous. Butterflies were the last major group of insects to appear on the planet. They evolved from moths in the latest Cretaceous or the earliest Cainozoic. The earliest known butterfly fossils date to the mid Eocene epoch, between 40–50 million years ago.
  Like moths, butterflies have four wings covered with tiny scales. When a butterfly is not flying, its wings are usually folded over its back.
context_section_description: The thorax is the second part of the body. It is made up of three segments. The legs and wings are connected to the thorax.
  The legs of a butterfly are made for walking, holding onto things, and tasting. There are three pairs of legs. There are four main parts of the leg. They are the trochanter, the femur, the tibia, and the foot. At the end of each foot, there is a pair of claws. Butterflies in the family Nymphalidae have very short front legs. They keep there front legs close to their bodies. This makes it look like they only have two pairs of legs. In some species, there is a movable body part on the tibia that is used to clean the antennae.
  A butterfly has two pairs of wings. Each wing has hollow tubes called veins. The colors and patterns of butterflies are made by tiny scales. The scales overlap each other. They are connected to the wing. If a butterfly is handled, the tiny scales may rub off.
caption: The eye-spot on a butterfly's wings
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