‘Under cover of the night’ nocturnal Lepidoptera

le.kloofconservancy.org.za ^ | 2025 The Leopard’s Echo. | Steve Woodhall

[kawhill]

A commonly used distinction is that butterflies are day-flying (diurnal) and moths are nocturnal.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

Maybe that's why butterflies are colorful and moths are rather dull looking.

[Olog-hai]

Ever see a luna moth? or a cecropia moth, or a Polyphemus moth?

[waterhill]

We get some giant moths round here ETX

[Bob434]

Yep, they are huge, the Luna moths-

[waterhill]

Starling size.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

I believe you. Absolutely. But in general the nocturnal moths which I commonly encounter are rather plain looking compared to butterflies. I do examine moths closely and many of them do have very interesting patterns. This is just my own anecdotal observations.

[Olog-hai]

Most moths are indeed drab-colored, and if you ever saw them on tree bark (most likely after landing) you’d see how well they are camouflaged. Bats are very fond of eating them, so they do need to last long enough to get the next generation going.

[BradyLS]

Those are all colorful giant silk moths. In North America, Ios and particularly Imperials are also striking.

[heartwood]

I used to find sweetheart moth underwings - something was eating them- and I kept trying to figure out which butterfly had such pretty wings - pink and orange, bordered by black.

A sweetheart moth at rest is a chunky dull brown thing, and even when it flies, you barely see the color on the wings. I wonder why it is that way.

[Bob434]