The following are the regional Lepidoptera lists by continent. Lepidoptera is the insect order consisting of both the butterflies and moths.
Lepidoptera are among the most successful groups of insects. They are found on all continents, except Antarctica. Lepidoptera inhabit all terrestrial habitats ranging from desert to rainforest, from lowland grasslands to montane plateaus but almost always associated with higher plants, especially angiosperms (flowering plants). Among the most northern dwelling species of butterflies and moths is the Arctic Apollo (Parnassius arcticus), which is found in the Arctic Circle in northeastern Yakutia, at an altitude of 1500 meters above sea level. In the Himalayas, various Apollo species such as Parnassius epaphus, have been recorded to occur up to an altitude of 6,000 meters above sea level.
Some lepidopteran species exhibit symbiotic, phoretic, or parasitic life-styles, inhabiting the bodies of organisms rather than the environment. Coprophagous pyralid moth species, called sloth moths, such as Bradipodicola hahneli and Cryptoses choloepi, are unusual in that they are exclusively found inhabiting the fur of sloths, mammals found in Central and South America. Two species of Tinea moths have been recorded as feeding on horny tissue and have been bred from the horns of cattle. The larva of Zenodochium coccivorella is an internal parasite of the coccid Kermes species. Many species have been recorded as breeding in natural materials or refuse such as owl pellets, bat caves, honey-combs or diseased fruit.
Of the approximately 174,250 lepidopteran species described until 2007, butterflies and skippers are estimated to comprise approximately 17,950, with moths making up the rest. The vast majority of Lepidoptera are to be found in the tropics, but substantial diversity exists on most continents. North America has over 700 species of butterflies and over 11,000 species of moths, while there are about 400 species of butterflies and 14,000 species of moths reported from Australia. The diversity of Lepidoptera in each faunal region has been estimated by John Heppner in 1991 based partly on actual counts from the literature, partly on the card indices in the Natural History Museum (London) and the National Museum of Natural History (Washington), and partly on estimates: + Diversity of Lepidoptera in each faunal region Palearctic Nearctic Neotropic Afrotropic Indo-Australian(comprising Indomalayan and Australasian realms) Estimated number of species 22,465 11,532 44,791 20,491 47,286
Species by continent
Africa Flag Country or territory Moths Butterflies Algeria Moths Butterflies Angola Moths Butterflies Benin Moths Butterflies Botswana Moths Butterflies Burkina Faso Moths Butterflies Burundi Moths Butterflies Cameroon Moths Butterflies Canary Islands (Autonomous community of Spain) Moths Butterflies Cape Verde Moths Butterflies Central African Republic Moths Butterflies Chad Moths Butterflies Comoros Moths Butterflies Congo, Democratic Republic of (Congo-Kinshasa) Moths Butterflies Congo, Republic of (Congo-Brazzaville) Moths Butterflies Djibouti Moths Butterflies Egypt Moths Butterflies Equatorial Guinea Moths Butterflies Eritrea Moths Butterflies Ethiopia Moths Butterflies Gabon Moths Butterflies Gambia Moths Butterflies Ghana Moths Butterflies Guinea Moths Butterflies Guinea-Bissau Moths Butterflies Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) Moths Butterflies Kenya Moths Butterflies Lesotho Moths Butterflies Liberia Moths Butterflies Libya Moths Butterflies Madagascar Moths Butterflies Malawi Moths Butterflies Mali Moths Butterflies Mauritania Moths Butterflies Mauritius Moths Butterflies Mayotte (Overseas territory of France) Moths Butterflies Morocco Moths Butterflies Mozambique Moths Butterflies Namibia Moths Butterflies Niger Moths Butterflies Nigeria Moths Butterflies Réunion (Overseas department of France) Moths Butterflies Rwanda Moths Butterflies Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha (Overseas territory of the United Kingdom) Moths Butterflies São Tomé and Príncipe Moths Butterflies Selvagens Islands (Part of the parish of Sé of Portugal) Moths Butterflies Senegal Moths Butterflies Seychelles Moths Butterflies Sierra Leone Moths Butterflies Somalia Moths Butterflies South Africa Moths Butterflies Sudan Moths Butterflies Swaziland Moths Butterflies Tanzania Moths Butterflies Togo Moths Butterflies Tunisia Moths Butterflies Uganda Moths Butterflies Zambia Moths Butterflies Zimbabwe Moths Butterflies
Asia
Flag Country or territory Moths Butterflies AbkhaziaThe following countries and territories are also often considered as European: , , , , and , classified as Asian countries by the United Nations Statistics Division, are also often considered as European countries, since their territories are either partly in Europe or in the vicinity of Europe (for the geographical boundaries between Asia and Europe, see here), and they have close political and historical ties with Europe (e.g., they are members of the Council of Europe). , , , and , all sovereign states lacking general international recognition, are also often considered as European countries. is also often considered as a European territory. Moths Butterflies Afghanistan Moths Butterflies Akrotiri and Dhekelia (Overseas territory of the United Kingdom located on Cyprus) Moths Butterflies Armenia Moths Butterflies Azerbaijan Moths Butterflies Bahrain Moths Butterflies Bangladesh Moths Butterflies Bhutan Moths Butterflies British Indian Ocean TerritoryThe British Indian Ocean Territory is sometimes considered as an African territory, since it was historically part of Mauritius. (Overseas territory of the United Kingdom) Moths Butterflies Brunei Moths Butterflies Cambodia Moths Butterflies China Moths Butterflies Christmas IslandChristmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands are sometimes considered as Oceanian territories, since they are dependent territories of Australia. (External territory of Australia) Moths Butterflies Cocos (Keeling) Islands (External territory of Australia) Moths Butterflies Cyprus Moths Butterflies Georgia Moths Butterflies India Moths ButterfliesButterflies of the Western Ghats Indonesia Moths ButterfliesButterflies of Sulawesi Iran Moths Butterflies Iraq Moths Butterflies Israel Moths Butterflies Japan Moths Butterflies Jordan Moths Butterflies Kazakhstan Moths Butterflies Korea, Democratic People's Republic of (North Korea) Moths Butterflies Korea, Republic of (South Korea) Moths Butterflies Kuwait Moths Butterflies Kyrgyzstan Moths Butterflies Laos Moths Butterflies Lebanon Moths Butterflies Malaysia Moths ButterfliesButterflies of Peninsular Malaysia Maldives Moths Butterflies Mongolia Moths Butterflies Myanmar (Burma) Moths Butterflies Nepal Moths Butterflies Oman Moths Butterflies Pakistan Moths Butterflies Palestinian territories Moths Butterflies Philippines Moths Butterflies Qatar Moths Butterflies Saudi Arabia Moths Butterflies Singapore Moths Butterflies Sri Lanka Moths Butterflies Syria Moths Butterflies Taiwan Moths Butterflies Tajikistan Moths Butterflies Thailand Moths Butterflies Timor-Leste (East Timor) Moths Butterflies Turkey Moths Butterflies Turkmenistan Moths Butterflies United Arab Emirates Moths Butterflies Uzbekistan Moths Butterflies Vietnam Moths Butterflies Yemen Moths Butterflies
Europe Flag Country or territory Moths Butterflies Albania Moths Butterflies Andorra Moths Butterflies Austria Moths Butterflies Azores Moths Butterflies Belarus Moths Butterflies Belgium Moths Butterflies Bosnia and Herzegovina Moths Butterflies Bulgaria Moths Butterflies Croatia Moths Butterflies Czech Republic Moths Butterflies Denmark Moths Butterflies Estonia Moths Butterflies Faroe Islands Moths Butterflies Finland Moths Butterflies France Moths Butterflies Germany Moths Butterflies Greece Moths Butterflies Hungary Moths Butterflies Iceland Moths Butterflies Ireland Moths Butterflies Italy Moths Butterflies Latvia Moths Butterflies Liechtenstein Moths Butterflies Lithuania Moths Butterflies Luxembourg Moths Butterflies Macedonia Moths Butterflies Madeira Moths Butterflies Malta Moths Butterflies Moldova Moths Butterflies Montenegro Moths Butterflies Netherlands Moths Butterflies Norway Moths Butterflies Poland Moths Butterflies Portugal Moths Butterflies Romania Moths Butterflies RussiaRussia is generally considered as a European country more than an Asian country, even though most of its territory is in Asia, since most of its population and also its capital are in Europe, and it has close political and historical ties with Europe. Moths ButterfliesButterflies of Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast Serbia Moths Butterflies Slovakia Moths Butterflies Slovenia Moths Butterflies Spain Moths ButterfliesButterflies of Minorca Sweden Moths Butterflies Switzerland Moths Butterflies Ukraine Moths Butterflies United Kingdom Moths Butterflies
North America
Flag Country or territory Moths Butterflies Anguilla Moths Butterflies Antigua and Barbuda Moths Butterflies Aruba (Constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) Moths Butterflies Bahamas Moths Butterflies Barbados Moths Butterflies Belize Moths Butterflies Bermuda (Overseas territory of the United Kingdom) Moths Butterflies Bonaire (Special municipality of the Netherlands) Moths Butterflies British Virgin Islands (Overseas territory of the United Kingdom) Moths Butterflies Canada Moths Butterflies Cayman Islands (Overseas territory of the United Kingdom) Moths Butterflies Clipperton Island (Overseas territory of France) Moths Butterflies Costa Rica Moths Butterflies Cuba Moths Butterflies Curaçao (Constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) Moths Butterflies Dominica Moths Butterflies Dominican Republic Moths Butterflies El Salvador Moths Butterflies Greenland (Self-governing territory of Denmark) Moths Butterflies Grenada Moths Butterflies Guadeloupe (Overseas department of France) Moths Butterflies Guatemala Moths Butterflies Haiti Moths Butterflies Honduras Moths Butterflies Jamaica Moths Butterflies Martinique (Overseas department of France) Moths Butterflies Mexico Moths Butterflies Montserrat (Overseas territory of the United Kingdom) Moths Butterflies Navassa Island (Insular area of the United States of America) Moths Butterflies Nicaragua Moths Butterflies Panama Moths Butterflies Puerto Rico (Insular area of the United States of America) Moths Butterflies Saba (Special municipality of the Netherlands) Moths Butterflies Saint Barthélemy (Overseas collectivity of France) Moths Butterflies Sint Eustatius (Special municipality of the Netherlands) Moths Butterflies Saint Kitts and Nevis Moths Butterflies Saint Lucia Moths Butterflies Saint Martin (Overseas collectivity of France) Moths Butterflies Saint Pierre and Miquelon (Overseas collectivity of France) Moths Butterflies Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Moths Butterflies Sint Maarten (Constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) Moths Butterflies Trinidad and Tobago Moths ButterfliesButterflies of Tobago Turks and Caicos Islands (Overseas territory of the United Kingdom) Moths Butterflies United States of America Moths Butterflies United States Virgin Islands (Insular area of the United States of America) Moths Butterflies
South America
Flag Country or territory Moths Butterflies Argentina Moths Butterflies Bolivia Moths Butterflies Brazil Moths Butterflies Chile Moths Butterflies Colombia Moths Butterflies Ecuador Moths Butterflies Falkland Islands (Overseas territory of the United Kingdom) Moths Butterflies French Guiana (Overseas department of France) Moths Butterflies Guyana Moths Butterflies Paraguay Moths Butterflies Peru Moths Butterflies Suriname Moths Butterflies Uruguay Moths Butterflies Venezuela Moths Butterflies
Oceania