Both butterflies and moths are winged insects. And, at a glance, they do seem similar. However, with just a bit of observation you can tell one from the other. How?
One of the easiest t ways to tell a butterfly from a moth is from the way they rest. Butterflies tend to fold their wings vertically up over their backs, while moths hold their wings flat in a tent-like fashion that hides the abdomen. While at rest, you can also see how their bodies and antennae are. Butterflies are slender and smooth, while moths are stout and fuzzy. Butterfly antennae are thin with club-shaped tips as against the feathery or comb-like antennae of moths. Also, normally butterflies come in vibrant colours and moths in dull colours. Another difference between them has to do with their wings. Butterfly wings are not linked, but the forewings and hindwings of moths are connected by a bristle-like structure called the frenulum. Butterflies are diumal, meaning they fly in the daytime, and moths are nocturnal, flying at night.
Another difference between butterflies and moths has to do with their pupal stage between the larva stage and the adult stage- rather than their physical structure. Butterflies form a chrysalis that’s hard, smooth, and silkless, while moths create cocoons spun from silk.
However, all the above do not mean there are no exceptions because there are dull-coloured butterfly varieties and extremely colourful moth varieties too. There are butterflies resting with their wings held flat and moths that rest with wings held up. There are crepuscular butterflies that fly at dawn and dusk, and diumal moths. The list goes on….
Picture Credit : Google
