At butterflies and moths are animals belonging to the phylum of arthropods, insect class, Lepidoptera order. Some features are common to these two animals, such as the presence of antennae, six legs and the body divided into head, thorax and abdomen. In this text, we will know their differences.
An interesting feature is that the butterflies have stronger and more vibrant colors than the moths. Moths have more brownish tones, however there are species that have strong colors.
Moths, in general, are less exuberant in color than butterflies.
Another interesting feature concerns the habit of life. butterflies have the daytime habit, while most moths it is active at night.
In addition to these differences, the butterflies and moths differ in their development. Both go through the pupa stage, but only moths make cocoons with silk threads that come out of their mouths.
The wings of these insects are also a factor for differentiation. At butterflies they leave their wings together in an upright position when they are at rest. already the moths they leave the wings open, extended horizontally over the body.
Resting butterflies keep their wings upright.
Finally, we can also differentiate them by their antennas. At butterflies they have clavated antennae, that is, thin with a dilated end. while the moths they have filiform antennas (similar to a wire) or plumose (similar to a feather).
Flowers pollinated by these insects show remarkable adaptations. Flowers pollinated by butterflies are usually red or orange. On the other hand, those of moths are white or pale, since most moths have a nocturnal habit. In addition, flowers pollinated by these insects usually have a long corolla adapted to the sucking mouthparts of butterflies and moths.
by Vanessa dos Santos
Graduated in Biology
