Earliest lepidopteran

The earliest known species of fossil lepidopteran (belonging to the taxonomic order housing butterflies and moths) is Archaeolepis mane, a small primitive moth-like insect approximately 190 million years old and dating from the Lower Jurassic period. Formally named and described in 1985, it was found in Dorset. Its well-preserved wing impressions show scales that, when viewed under a scanning electron microscope, reveal the presence of parallel grooves and a characteristic wing-venation pattern also exhibited by caddisflies – the closest living relatives of lepidopterans. Although superficially resembling small moths, caddisflies have wings covered in hair-like structures (hence caddisflies are known scientifically as trichopterans – "hair-winged"), whereas the wings of butterflies and moths are covered in scales (hence they are called lepidopterans – "scale-winged").