What are the differences among butterflies, skippers, and moths?
Sometimes people think of butterflies as being brightly colored, delicate insects that fly during daylight hours and moths as being heavier-bodied, drab insects that fly at night. While these differences do apply generally, there are many exceptions. Some butterflies are brown with very little patterning, while some moths fly during the day and have bright and distinctive coloration. The most reliable anatomical difference is the shape of the antennae: butterflies have antennae with knobs or swellings at their ends; skippers have hooks or points at the end of antennal knobs; and moths have filamentous (thread-like) or feathery antennae without knobs. Some other characteristics are also reasonably useful for distinguishing butterflies and moths, though for these characteristics there are many exceptions. For instance, when not flying butterflies generally hold their wings spread out to the side or held together vertically (up over the body); skippers hold their wings spread out or with
Most people think of butterflies as being brightly coloured, delicate insects that fly during daylight hours and moths as being heavier-bodied, drab insects that fly at night. While these differences do apply generally, there are many exceptions. Some butterflies are brown with very little patterning, while some moths fly during the day and have bright and distinctive coloration. The most reliable anatomical difference is the shape of the antennae: butterflies have antennae with knobs or swellings at their ends; skippers have hooks or points at the end of antennal knobs; and moths have filamentous (thread-like) or feathery antennae without knobs. Some other characteristics are also reasonably useful for distinguishing butterflies and moths, though for these characteristics there are many exceptions. For instance: when not flying butterflies generally hold their wings spread out to the side or held together vertically (up over the body); skippers hold their wings spread out or with the
