The difference between butterflies and moths

WHAT is the difference between butterflies and moths?

This is a question I am often asked or I ask it, just to get people thinking, but answering this question is kind of like asking ‘which came first, the chicken or the egg?’.

Surely a scientist somewhere has resolved the chicken story by now?

I will answer this question by first using some commonly made statements regarding butterflies and moths:

* Butterflies fly around during the day and moths fly at night:

There are a few species of butterflies, such as the night fighters that fly around in the early evenings. There are also quite a few species of moths that are known to fly around during daylight hours, the maiden moths being a good example.

* Butterflies have pretty colours while moths are drab and brown:

Fact is, there are loads of butterflies which are also drab and brown, the common bush brown butterfly being one we commonly see in our gardens. As far as moths are concerned, there are plenty of beautiful moths which are often confused for butterflies because of their beauty. A commonly seen example of this is the pleasant hornet moth.

* Butterflies settle with wings folded, while moths settle with their wings flat or moths have fluffy antennae and butterflies have clubbed antennae:

Both of these arguments have so many variables on either side that it renders the arguments useless.

The answer to the question about the difference between butterflies and moths is simply that they are all Lepidoptera, there is no definitive difference between the two.

The word Lepidoptera comes from the ancient Greek where lepidos means scale and pteron means wing. Lepidoptera means ‘scale winged’ insect. If you have ever handled a moth or butterfly with your bare hands, you would have noticed that once you are done, your hands are full of dust. That dust is actually minute little scales, of which there are probably millions on each butterfly or moth wing. It is also these scales that give the insects their colour.

South Africa is home to over 700 species of butterflies and well over 1,000 moth species, with most of the moths having not even been described by science yet. If you want to learn more about these amazing creatures, join the Lepidopterists Society of Africa, LEPSOC in short. Find their website at www.lepsocafrica.org. From here you can learn so much about butterflies and moths and their importance in our eco-system.

Thanks to Facebook, I met up with the author Steve Woodhall who has taught me amazing things about butterflies over the years. His passion ignited my passion to want to know more about these beautiful creatures.

With this article I hope to also encourage you to avoid the squash reflex the next time you are in your garden and see a caterpillar munching on one of your prized plants, but rather put that caterpillar in a box, (a clear plastic container is best, but an ice-cream tub will work or even an old shoebox) with some of its food plant. Clean out the box and change the food plant every day or two until the caterpillar stops eating, then within a day or three, the caterpillar will pupate. Try to not disturb or touch the pupa, as this can be detrimental to it. Most butterflies and moths emerge within a month of pupation, however, some can remain dormant through winter. You can take photos throughout the process and document your findings, which you can then share with Lepsoc and who knows, you may discover a new species or as yet undescribed lifecycle. There are few things that give one more pleasure than knowing you have discovered something no-one else has. Most importantly this can be a great learning experience for children.

If you would like to have your bugs, spiders or even snakes identified or relocated, WhatsApp Warren or call 072-211-0353.