Systematics, diversity & speciation of Lepidoptera

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Spruce budworm moths are major defoliators of conifer forests in North America, influencing forest structure by their regular outbreaks and causing much economic damage despite many decades of effort to manage their population numbers. Butterflies of the Old World Swallowtail species group have received much attention as well, although mainly because they are large and visually attractive to naturalists. Both groups of Lepidoptera share the fact that we still don't know how many species they contain and how to tell them apart, in spite of years of study. This may be because these species are in the process of diverging in some areas but merging in others. We would like to know why this might be happening, since this would give us insight into how speciation occurs. In other words how and why can one species can turn into two species? And can new species sometimes form from hybridization between previously distinct species?