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Differentiating between butterflies and moths
Describing the difference between a butterfly and a moth is not rocket science. The beautiful array of colours displayed by a butterfly is in vast contrast to the dull ones owned by a moth. But there is more to each than first meets the eye.
Butterflies
- They have thin slender filamentous antennae which are club shaped at the end
- They prefer to be daytime insects
- There is 20,000 species in the world
- Some butterflies reproduce up to 12 times a year. They tend to do so in spring and summer because there is less daylight hours in the winter months
- An unusual species is a glasswing because its wings are mostly seethrough
- The lifespan of a butterfly is usually two to three weeks
- Butterflies generally form an exposed pupa which is also termed as a chrysalis
- They have slender and smoother abdomens and they also possess finer scales
Moths
- Moths often have comb-like or feathery antennae, or filamentous and unclubbed
- The lifespan of a silk moth is just one and a half weeks
- Many have a frenulum which is a filament arising from the hindwing and coupling with barbs on the forewing. Some have a lobe on the forewing called a jugum that helps in coupling with the hindwing. Butterflies lack these structures
- Most species of moth are nocturnal, meaning they are active at night
- Female moths lay eggs at night
- The Atlas moth has no mouth parts
- Moth caterpillars generally spin a cocoon made of silk within which they metamorphose into the pupal stage
- They tend to have stout and hairy or furry-looking bodies, as well as larger scales on their wings which makes them look more dense and fluffy
