When naming the nearly 200 species of butterflies known to him at the time, Linnaeus used names from
classical mythology as
specific names. These were thematically arranged into six groups, and were drawn from classical sources including the
Fabulae of
Gaius Julius Hyginus and
Pliny the Elder's
Naturalis Historia. The first such group was the
Equites, or
knights, which were divided into the
Equites Trojani (
Trojan army) and
Equites Achivi (
Achaean army), and between them named most of the figures involved in the
Trojan War. The second group was the
Heliconii, comprising
Apollo and
Muses. The third group was the
Danai, divided into the
Danai Candidi and the
Danai Festivi, representing
the Danaids and their husbands. The fourth group was the
Nymphales, or
nymphs, divided into the
Nymphales gemmati and the
Nymphales phalerati, on the basis of the insects' wing markings. The fifth group, the
Plebeji, were divided into
Plebeji Rurales and
Plebeji Urbicolae. There is little thematic connection between their names. The final group was the
Barbari, or
Argonauts. ==
Papilio (butterflies)==