Butterflies are classified within the animal kingdom as follows:
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Arthropoda
- Class: Insecta
- Order: Lepidoptera
- Suborder: Rhopalocera
Within the suborder Rhopalocera, butterflies are further divided into families and genera based on their physical characteristics and evolutionary relationships. There are about 17,500 known species of butterflies, which are found in every region of the world except for Antarctica.