Butterfly or Moth?
Butterflies and moths belong to the second largest order of insects (next to beetles) with approximately 170,000 species across the world.
Butterflies and moths have a few things in common:
- They both have two pairs of wings covered with overlapping layers of scales.
- They both feed by uncoiling a long feeding-tube through which they suck nutrients from flowers and puddles.
- They both have a complex life cycles consisting of four developmental stages: eggs, caterpillars, pupae, and adults.
But butterflies differ from moths in that:
- Butterflies are active by day, while moths are active at night
- Butterflies are usually brightly colored, while moths are usually muted in color.
- Butterflies have thinner bodies than moths, which have tout body shapes.
- Butterflies rest with their wings held erect over their backs, while moths rest with wings folded, tent-like, over their backs.
- Butterflies have antennae that are thin and thickened at the tip, while moths have antennae that are thicker all around and sometimes feathery.