Question for latin readers

[SphinYote]

Lepidoptera phasmatis:

Would this translate in a grammatically correct manner to "butterfly ghost"?

I know Lepidoptera can refer to both butterflies and moths, and that's fine, just wonering if the grammar is correct....

:hahugh: Trying to come up with a new online identity, and I want to get it right...

[Cameron_]

Lepidoptera is a word created from various Greek roots for taxonomy purposes, as far as I know. The roots it is formed from mean "having two scaly wings," if my research is correct. (I only had a semester of Greek, so Google helped me quite a bit with this one.) Lepidopteron would be the singular form of the word.

Are you looking for something strictly in Latin or not?

If you aren't looking for something strictly in Latin, I think the proper form would be lepidopteron phasma, if it's to be singular. Phasmatis, iirc, is the genitive case (singular), and is simply given to show the stem you'll need when forming it outside of the nominative singular. You appear to have a straight adjective-noun construction going on, so the nominative form phasma would be my choice.

[Sebastian]

Cameron_ has the right of it, but what you've got is good enough for laymen.

I'd recommend Spanish; Mariposa Fantasma, but that's just because I think it sounds prettier.

[Agaliha]

You could ask here, the About.com's Latin section. They have a forum and many people ask about those types of things:

http://forums.about.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?folderId=16&listMode=13&nav=messages&webtag=ab-ancienthist

Also, in French (not that you were asking) it'd be: le fantôme de papillon, basically.

[SphinYote]

Thank you everyone.:thumbsup: