Posted on 07/03/2025 2:50:51 PM PDT by kawhill
What are the differences between butterflies and moths?
Although both of these fluttering insects come under the classification Lepidoptera, they possess many differences that classify them as a butterfly or a moth.
(Excerpt) Read more at australianbutterflies.com ...
I love drunken taxonomic disputes.
Well at least The Mothman
DOESN’T LOOK demonic...
😀😃🤣🤣😜😝
I think you’re thinking of a Far Side cartoon 🤔 😉 😄
LOL
Don’t get me started on the fist fights I’ve seen over whether everything in the explicate universe was contained within the implicate universe or not.
Yup. It’s all a spirited friendly discussion until the machetes come out.
I just keep my mouth shut, anymore. No need to go Cliff Clavin on the guy with the pocketknife haircut that claims koalas are not bears...they’re in the cat family.
One difference is, someone will probably check my numbers, but there are about 500 species of butterflies and 6000 species of moths.
One breezy night I forgot to take my flag in from the front of my garage, where it kept setting off the motion detector flood light. Next morning it was crusted with creatures I never knew lived on this Earth.
I think moths are cool and don’t understand why they are considered to be pests by many. I like seeing them flutter around my porch light.
She runs in the other room.
Well, generally speaking. Everything has exceptions.
A butterfly can’t kick Godzilla’s butt.
I love my USB-rechargeable electric fly swatter
In related news, saw a disturbing commercial for a solar battery bug zapper the other day. The little vignettes included one showing a woman cooking with one next to the stove, and another next to a grill that had burgers on it
I like bug zappers, and my own experience bears what I read in an article about them: tiny bugs tend to just get fried and disappear. Bigger bugs tend to get stuck and essentially fry. But some mid-sized bugs essentially explode, spraying the immediate area with miniscule bits of shredded bug guts. So the last place you want to put one is next to a food prep area. The second worst would be sit under or near one
I found a cocoon under my oak tree. Put it in an aquarium and took it to work. After about a month I could hear something scratching inside when I put the cocoon close to my ear. Unfortunately, it hatched over the weekend and when I came in on Monday, it had been flapping around a lot in the aquarium. Seemed a little frustrated trying to get out.
It was a Polyphemus moth, nearly five inches wide, wingtip-to-wingtip. It was beautiful with big false eyes on its wings. Their cocoons are made of silk and they secrete an enzyme to break out. I took it home and released it in my backyard. It gracefully flew up and away out of sight.
I lived in Largo, MD and worked in Silver Spring. The next morning, I drove to work and parked the car, walked around the corner to the building where I worked. I looked up and there was a Polyphemus flying 15 feet above the street, headed towards my building. A security guard said “that’s the biggest moth I’ve seen.” I agreed, scratching my head. It couldn’t be the same moth, could it? They have an incredible sense of direction, like GPS. Maybe they need to return to the place where they hatched, I dunno.
I hatched another one at home. I put the cocoon in the bathroom so it would have more room. It was difficult to catch but I carefully took it out back and let go. Never saw another one since.
A Social Moth is similar in nature to a Social Butterfly, being attracted to social events and places where a number of people are gathered. However, the main difference is that while a Social Butterfly is usually more outgoing and well-liked by their social group, a Social Moth gathers around popular people and places without being particularly popular themselves, much like a moth is attracted to a bright light
LOL...
Sounds like my house with moths....and ants...and spiders...and any type of insect....and tiny little lizards when we are in Florida...
One time a bat flew in the house- did not see my wife or daughter for 12+ hours....
My wife has a bird phobia. She’s scared to death of them. We were in church once and a bird flew in an open door and flew about ten feet in front of us right at eye level, and my wife screamed so loud everything stopped for about five seconds and all eyes were on us. Eye yi yi………..
Interesting.
Although after reading the article, and a brief Google search, I do not understand the difference between superposition and opposition eyes.
That’s a good-looking Imperial! Great photo!
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