How many butterflies is there in the world?

According to current estimates has more than 157,000 species. As of December 2011, there were 157,424 described species, which are part of the 126 families and 46 superfamilies. And every year since the discovery of new species this number is increasing. It is assumed that at least 100,000 species of butterflies are still not known to the world of science. Thus, the likely total number of species of Lepidoptera are assessed in the 200,000 - 225,000 species (about 22% of all known species of insects).

The true estimate of the total number of species will never be known because many species have become extinct before they are discovered. Systematics of butterflies presented in various publications reflect the different views of their authors, and is, no doubt, controversial. And there will be disputes, dedicated to the systematic position or the need to maintain the status of some subspecies or species. DNA studies indicate that some of the currently known species to be separated. A well-known example is the case where at first look identical Colias alfacariensis and Colias hyale, formerly considered one species were divided into two, after Berger found significant differences in their caterpillars and pupae. Due to all the above, the true estimate of the number of species is very difficult.

Typical biologist argument, "it is difficult therefore we don't do it".

I find the notion that you can narrow down the number of species to +- a few thousand interesting in itself and how someday the estimates will converge to some number. The paper gave a few numbers like 7700 which had been very early estimates and they have already been disproved in some sense.

Bob, I am most certainly not in the position of educating you, I just wanted to ask you how you can assign in the beginning of your post subjectivity to the species concept and then, paradoxically, end the post by stating that the bugs sort themselves out?

There is something very objective in the core concept of a species as there is on the one hand the populations that only interbreed one with another and the thing that birds for example protect their beat against some individuals and not against others. There is also interesting studies where indigenous people of islands got asked how many different birds they know and the number matched pretty well to the one of Linnean taxonomy.

Yes sometimes the boundaries may appear blurry, but I do not see a reason to assign subjectivity to the whole concept.

Just to sprinkle some pepper on it, genera ARE definition dependant. They have no objective core.

When I was in Curitiba a couple of years ago, Dr Mielke showed me a long series of a new morpho from the cerrado of Brasil - there are big ones that are still out there. I've seen a couple Adelpha that are obviously new as well.

Bob Robbins estimates that 25% of the hairstreak species in the Andes are undescribed. Between this, Riodinidae and Hesperiidae - there are a few thousand new bugs out there in the western hemisphere. I'm sitting on a handful in my private collection. If you collect in interesting habitats, new species are not that hard to come by.

I just love the last line... I think that this is code for "there are only about 1500-2000 big and pretty species that you can buy off ebay...." no?

Shuey

Bob, it's not because scientists make some errors trying to understand which specimens belong to the same species that the concept of "species" is subjective.

If scientist had all information they need (larval and pupae stage, foodplants, DNA, genitalia...) each time they describe a species they would make far less errors.
It's only because our knowledge is increasing that we change our minds and try to improve current classification.

Olivier

Yes, obviously the more information we have the fewer errors we will make. Unfortunately there are still far too many people around who just want to get their name in print or think they can make money by describing new taxa. These are the sort of people who describe new taxa from a single (potentially aberrant) specimen or do so without adhering to The Code.

Bob

does anyone know the number of species of butterfly that are counted as European?