A common classification of the
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...
involves their differentiation into
butterflies
Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...
and
moths. Butterflies are a natural
monophyletic
In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...
group, often given the suborder Rhopalocera, which includes
Papilionoidea (true butterflies),
Hesperiidae
Skippers are a family of the Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) named the Hesperiidae. Being diurnal, they are generally called butterflies. They were previously placed in a separate superfamily, Hesperioidea; however, the most recent taxonomy ...
(skippers), and
Hedylidae (butterfly moths). In this taxonomic scheme, moths belong to the suborder Heterocera. Other taxonomic schemes have been proposed, the most common putting the butterflies into the suborder
Ditrysia and then the "superfamily"
Papilionoidea and ignoring a classification for moths.
Taxonomy
While the butterflies form a
monophyletic
In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...
group, the moths, which comprise the rest of the Lepidoptera, do not. Many attempts have been made to group the superfamilies of the Lepidoptera into natural groups, most of which fail because one of the two groups is not monophyletic: Microlepidoptera and Macrolepidoptera, Heterocera and Rhopalocera, Jugatae and Frenatae, Monotrysia and Ditrysia.
[Scoble, MJ 1995. The Lepidoptera: form, function and diversity. Oxford, UK: The Oxford University Press; 404 p.]
Although the rules for distinguishing these groups are not absolute, one very good guiding principle is that butterflies have thin antennae and (with one exception) have small balls or clubs at the end of their antennae. Moth antennae can be quite varied in appearance, but in particular lack the club end. The divisions are named by this principle: "club-antennae" (Rhopalocera) or "varied-antennae" (Heterocera).
The following families of Lepidoptera are usually considered butterflies:
*
Swallowtails and
birdwing
Birdwings are butterflies in the swallowtail family, that belong to the genera ''Trogonoptera'', ''Troides'', and ''Ornithoptera''. Most recent authorities recognise 36 species, however, this is debated, and some authorities include additional ...
s,
Papilionidae
*Whites or yellow-whites,
Pieridae
*Blues and coppers or gossamer-winged butterflies,
Lycaenidae
*Metalmark butterflies,
Riodinidae
*Brush-footed butterflies,
Nymphalidae which contain the following 13 subfamilies:
** the snout butterflies or
Libytheinae
The Libytheinae are a nymphalid subfamily known as snout butterflies, containing two valid genera and about ten species: six in ''Libythea'' and four in '' Libytheana''. The common name refers to the thick labial palps (pedipalps) that look like ...
(formerly the family Libytheidae)
** the danaids or
Danainae (formerly the family Danaidae)
** the
Tellervinae
Tellervini is a tribe of danaid butterflies with only the one genus ''Tellervo'', with six widely distributed species found in the Australasian realm and the Indomalayan realm (also called the ''Oriental region''). The taxon is apparently monoph ...
** the glasswings or
Ithomiinae
** the
Calinaginae
''Calinaga'' is the sole genus of the monotypic nymphalid butterfly subfamily Calinaginae. Its species occur in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The evolutionary history of ''Calinaga'' remains a mystery until today. Recent research indicated that ...
** the morphos and owls or
Morphinae (including the owls as tribe Brassolini)
** the browns or
Satyrinae
The Satyrinae, the satyrines or satyrids, commonly known as the browns, are a subfamily of the Nymphalidae (brush-footed butterflies). They were formerly considered a distinct family, Satyridae. This group contains nearly half of the known divers ...
(formerly the family Satyridae)
** the
Charaxinae (''
Prepona''s and leaf butterflies)
** the
Biblidinae
** the
Apaturinae
** the nymphs or
Nymphalinae
The Nymphalinae are a subfamily of brush-footed butterflies (family Nymphalidae). Sometimes, the subfamilies Limenitidinae, and Biblidinae are included here as subordinate tribe(s), while the tribe Melitaeini is occasionally regarded as a distinc ...
** the
Limenitidinae (especially the ''
Adelpha
''Adelpha'' is a genus of brush-footed butterflies found from the southern United States and Mexico to South America. They are commonly known as sisters, due to the white markings on their wings, which resemble a nun's habit. This genus is so ...
''s) (formerly the family Limenitididae)
** the tropical longwings or
Heliconiinae
The family
Hesperiidae
Skippers are a family of the Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) named the Hesperiidae. Being diurnal, they are generally called butterflies. They were previously placed in a separate superfamily, Hesperioidea; however, the most recent taxonomy ...
, or the skippers, often considered as butterflies, have significant morphological differences from butterflies and moths.
The other families of the Lepidoptera are considered moths.
Morphological differences
Shape and structure of antennae
The most obvious difference is in the feelers, or
antennae. Most butterflies have thin slender filamentous antennae which are club shaped at the end. Moths, on the other hand, often have comb-like or feathery antennae, or filamentous and unclubbed. This distinction is the basis for the earliest taxonomic divisions in the Lepidoptera: the Rhopalocera ("clubbed horn", the butterflies) and the Heterocera ("varied horn", the moths).
There are, however, exceptions to this rule and a few moths (the families
Castniidae
Castniidae, or castniid moths, is a small family of moths with fewer than 200 species: The majority are Neotropical with some in Australia and a few in south-east Asia. These are medium-sized to very large moths, usually with drab, cryptically-ma ...
,
Uraniidae,
Apoprogonidae
Apoprogoninae is a monotypic subfamily of the moth family Sematuridae. Its single genus, ''Apoprogones'', containing a single species, ''Apoprogones hesperistis'', were both described by George Hampson in 1903. It is known from Eswatini and South ...
, and
Sematuridae) have clubbed antennae. Some butterflies, like ''
Pseudopontia paradoxa
''Pseudopontia paradoxa'' is a species of butterfly found only in wet forests of tropical Africa. It was traditionally thought to be the only species (monotypic) in the genus '' Pseudopontia'' and the subfamily Pseudopontiinae. However, a recent ...
'' from the forests of central
Africa, lack the club ends. The
hesperiids often have an angle to the tip of the antenna.
Wing-coupling mechanisms
Many moths have a
frenulum which is a filament arising from the hindwing and coupling (matching up) with barbs on the forewing. The frenulum can be observed only when a specimen is in hand. Some moths have a lobe on the forewing called a jugum that helps in coupling with the hindwing. Butterflies, however, lack these structures.
Pupae
Most moth
caterpillars spin a
cocoon made of silk within which they
metamorphose into the
pupal stage. Most butterfly caterpillars, on the other hand, form an exposed pupa made from a hardened protein, also termed a
chrysalis
A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...
.
File:Pupa3-cropped.jpg, Moths typically form a cocoon
File:Monarch Butterfly Cocoon 3.jpg, Butterflies typically form a chrysalis
There are many exceptions to this rule, however. For example, the
hawk moths form an exposed pupa which is underground.
Spongy moths sometimes form butterfly-style pupae, hanging on twigs or tree bark, although usually they create flimsy cocoons out of silk webbing and leaf bits, leaving the pupa exposed. The plume winged moths of the family
Pterophoridae also pupates without a cocoon and the pupa resembles the chrysalis of the
pierid butterfly. A few skipper butterfly larvae also make crude cocoons in which they pupate, exposing the pupa a bit. The ''
Parnassius'' butterfly larvae make a flimsy cocoon for pupation and they pupate near the ground surface between debris.
Colouration of the wings
Most butterflies have bright colours on their wings. Nocturnal moths on the other hand are usually plain brown, grey, white or black and often with obscuring patterns of zigzags or swirls which help
camouflage them from predators as they rest during the day. However, many day-flying moths are brightly coloured, particularly if they are
toxic. These
diurnal species evolved to locate their mates visually and not primarily by
pheromone as their drab nocturnal cousins.
Several species of
Saturniidae moths, such as the giant silk moths, are nocturnal but often have bright colours and striking patterns on their wings. A few butterflies are also plain-coloured, like the
cabbage white Cabbage white or cabbage butterfly may refer to:
* ''Pieris brassicae'', a Palearctic butterfly
* ''Pieris rapae
''Pieris rapae'' is a small- to medium-sized butterfly species of the whites-and-yellows family Pieridae. It is known in Europe as ...
butterfly or the
baron
Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...
butterfly.
Structure of the body
Moths tend to have stout and hairy or furry-looking bodies, while butterflies have slender and smoother abdomens. Moths have larger scales on their wings which makes them look more dense and fluffy. Butterflies on the other hand possess fine scales. This difference is possibly due to the need for moths to conserve heat during the cooler nights, or to confound
echolocation by bats, whereas butterflies are able to absorb
sunlight
Sunlight is a portion of the electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun, in particular infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light. On Earth, sunlight is scattered and filtered through Earth's atmosphere, and is obvious as daylight when t ...
.
Eye types
Despite appearances, butterflies and moths have different types of
compound eyes. Though not universal, moths very commonly have
superposition eyes, while butterflies equally commonly favour
apposition eyes. This is due to the superposition eye's adaptations for low light environments suiting the nocturnal moths, and the apposition eye's superior resolution and potential for colour vision benefiting the more diurnal butterflies.
There are several exceptions to this rule, such as with the diurnal
Zygaenidae and Sytomidae families of moths, both of which have apposition eyes, or the
Hedyloidea family of butterflies, which are nocturnal and feature superposition eyes.
In most cases where one species is found to be using the opposite type of eye than expected, it is because they are active during the opposite time of day than is normal for other butterflies or moths.
Behavioural differences
Time of activity
Most moths are
nocturnal
Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite.
Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...
or
crepuscular
In zoology, a crepuscular animal is one that is active primarily during the twilight period, being matutinal, vespertine, or both. This is distinguished from diurnal and nocturnal behavior, where an animal is active during the hours of daylig ...
while most butterflies are
diurnal. There are however exceptions, including the spectacular
Uraniidae or sunset moths. A few species, such as the male European/North American
spongy moth, fly during both day and night in search of the females, which are flightless.
Resting posture
Moths usually rest with their wings spread out to their sides. Butterflies frequently fold their wings above their backs when they are perched although they will occasionally "bask" with their wings spread for short periods (several types of
Swallowtail butterflies
Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful Butterfly, butterflies in the family Papilionidae, and include over 550 species. Though the majority are tropical, members of the family inhabit every continent except Antarctica. The family includes ...
tend to frequently rest with their wings spread when in sunlight). However, some butterflies, like the
skippers, may hold their wings either flat, or folded, or even in-between (the so-called "jet plane" position) when perched.
File:Female emperor gum moth.jpg, Typical moth resting posture
File:LeopardMothBlueSpots edit2.jpg, Alternative moth resting posture
File:Beautiful butterfly 2-cutout.JPG, Typical butterfly resting posture
Most moths also occasionally fold their wings above their backs when they are in a certain spot (like when there is no room to fully spread their wings).
A sometimes confusing family can be the
Geometridae (such as the
winter moth) because the adults often rest with their wings folded vertically. These moths have thin bodies and large wings like many butterflies but may be distinguished easily by structural differences in their antennae (e.g.
bipectinate).
Examples of exceptions to the general moth/butterfly distinctions
File:Chrysiridia rhipheus 23.JPG, '' Chrysiridia rhipheus'' ( Uraniidae), the day-flying Madagascan sunset moth, has butterfly-like colours
File:Tetragonus catamitus India.jpg, '' Tetragonus'' sp., a day-flying callidulid moth holds its wings like a butterfly but lacks the knobbed antennae
File:Paysandisia archon MHNT female.jpg, The day-flying '' Paysandisia archon'' has clubbed antennae like other moths of family Castniidae
Castniidae, or castniid moths, is a small family of moths with fewer than 200 species: The majority are Neotropical with some in Australia and a few in south-east Asia. These are medium-sized to very large moths, usually with drab, cryptically-ma ...
File:Callosamia promethea 37.JPG, The male '' Callosamia promethea'' moth uses Batesian mimicry
Batesian mimicry is a form of mimicry where a harmless species has evolved to imitate the warning signals of a harmful species directed at a predator of them both. It is named after the English naturalist Henry Walter Bates, after his work on bu ...
to mimic the poisonous pipe vine swallowtail butterfly
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Comparison of butterflies and moths
Lepidopterology