Zoom Butterfly Butterfly Glossary

GARDEN TIGER MOTH The Garden Tiger (Arctia caja), also known as the Great Tiger Moth, is a common moth that is has a 1.8-2.8 inch (4.5-7 cm) wingspan. Its caterpillar, the black woolly bear, has long black hairs on top and rust-colored hairs on the underside. It is found in Europe and Asia in temperate regions, and less frequently in the Canada and Northern USA. Family Arctiidae.

GENUS In classification, a genus is a group of related or similar organisms. A genus contains one or more species. A group of similar genera (the plural of genus) forms a family. In the scientific name of an organism, the first name is its genus (for example, people are Homo sapiens - our genus is Homo).

GEOLOGICAL TIME The history of the earth is described in geological time, which is measured in millions of years and billions of years. The divisions used are: eon, era, period, and epoch.

GIANT SWALLOWTAIL BUTTERFLY The giant swallowtail butterfly, also called the orangedog butterfly (Papilio cresphontes) is a large black and yellow butterfly with a yellow body. Eggs are tiny, yellow and circular. The caterpillar, which looks a bit like a small, black, white, and brown snake, is considered a pest (because it eats many agricultural species, including orange tree leaves). The chrysalis is brown. This butterfly lives in much of North America. Classification: Family Papilionidae (swallowtail butterflies), Genus Papilio, Species P. cresphontes.

GOLIATH BIRDWING BUTTERFLY The Goliath Birdwing (Ornithoptera goliath) is the second-largest butterfly in the world. This brightly-colored butterfly is poisonous and has a wingspan up to 11 inches (28 cm) wide. It has black, yellow and green wings and a yellow and black body. This butterfly in found in tropical forests in Indonesia. Family Papilionidae

GOSSAMER-WINGED BUTTERFLIES The gossamar-winged butterflies (family Lycaenidae) include the hairstreaks, coppers, blues, and harvesters. They are small butterflies - some have a tail-like projection on the bottom of the hind wings (hence their name - hairstreak). Males have reduced forelegs. The undersides of the wings are speckled. The caterpillars are slug-like.

GYMNOSPERM Gymnosperms are seed-bearing plants that that don't produce flowers. They release pollen into the air to the female ovule, causing fertilization. Their seeds develop without a protective covering. The earliest gymnosperms were seed ferns from the Devonian period (408-360 million years ago). Conifers (like pines, redwoods, and gingkos), and cycads are gymnosperms.

Zoom Butterfly Butterfly Glossary

Click to read our Privacy Policy

E-mail