Why is butterfly considered an insect?

They are (by definition) considered insects. They are in the insect order Lepidoptera and are classified with insects because they have a head, thorax, and abdomen. read more

Butterflies share these characteristics, and are thus classified as insects. Longer, waffling answer: Biological classification is an ever changing landscape—in fact, much as Pluto lost its “planet” status, three significant groups of critters have lost their “insect” status since I was in grad school. read more

Insects are a special group of arthropods. All insects share several, easily-recognizable external characteristics including: read more