Any of the more than 100,000 species constituting the order Lepidoptera (Greek: "scaly wing"): moths , and skippers .
The name refers to the dusting of minute scales that covers the wings and bodies of these insects . A slender proboscis is used for sucking. Nearly all lepidopterans are plant eaters, and species are found on every continent except Antarctica. Females may lay from a few to a thousand or more eggs at a time. All lepidopterans undergo complete {{link=metamorphosis">metamorphosis . Many types move from one region to another, sometimes crossing thousands of miles of ocean, but the only species that truly migrates
the same individuals making a two-way flight
is the monarch butterfly .