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Nymphalidae
Rafinesque, 1815
The Nymphalidae are a family of diurnal moths, belonging to the Papilionoidea superfamily.
It includes about 6,000 species distributed throughout most of the earth, and includes some of the most beautiful and spectacular butterflies in the world,
like the monarch, the morphos and the vanesse.
The most important character that distinguishes this group from other butterflies is given by the structure
of the front legs that are small or very reduced ... almost atrophied . *
In males they are often covered with thick tufts of scales and this particularity has
gave rise to the name "brush-footed butterflies" with which members of this family are sometimes referred to.
The Nymphalidae are divided into numerous subfamilies, many of which were once considered separate families such as the Nymphalidae Satirinae .
* Wolfe, Joanna M.; Oliver, Jeffrey C.; Monteiro, Antónia (2011-01-01). "Evolutionary reduction of the first thoracic limb in butterflies". Journal of Insect Science.
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