#43: Butterflies & Moths - What's the Difference?

Litinsects #43: Butterflies & Moths - What's the Difference?

What’s the difference between butterflies and moths? They both belong to the same order 🦋 LEPIDOPTERA, meaning „scale-wings“ (I talked about these scales back in my day 8 post).

Taxonomically speaking, butterflies are a MONOPHYLETIC group within Lepidoptera and moths are PARAPHYLETIC and I am fully aware that if you haven’t studied biology you will have absolutely no idea what that just meant… basically, all butterflies share common ancestry and can be considered a specialized group within the larger group of moths.

General differences include:

Resting wing position: Moths tend to hold their wings FLAT out to the sides or tent-like over their backs and butterflies rest with their wings closed VERTICALLY over their backs. Butterflies do sometimes open their wings flat to bask in the sun though

Behavior: Moths tend to to be NOCTURNAL (active at night) whereas butterflies are DIURNAL (active during the day)

Pupal stage: Moth caterpillars spin COCOONS made of silk, however butterfly caterpillars form a smooth, hard covering called a CHRYSALIS

Antennae shape: Butterflies have long thin antennae with small club or bulb-like structures at the tips. Moths can have widely diverse antennae shapes but very often they will be either long and thin (without bulbs) or feathery/comb-shaped

Color: Because moths are nocturnal, they are generally duller or more drab in color to help camouflage them from predators. Butterflies, are often decked out in brilliant colors because they fly by day and many locate their mates visually

General appearance: Moths tend to have thicker bodies and fuzzier wings, whereas butterflies usually have thinner bodies and look smoother. This is mostly due to the size of the insects’ scales; those of butterflies are smaller than those of moths

Of course there are numerous exceptions to each of these points. To quote the amazing Pirates of the Caribbean: „they’re more like guidelines than actual rules“. 😆 But generally speaking, you should now be able to tell the difference.

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