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| Composia credula moth |
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| Zebra Longwing butterfly |
I recently saw a bunch of different butterflies in my yard, flitting around on the
tamarind flowers, the bougainvillea, and the pigeon berry tree – one of the joyful
aspects of life in the Virgin Islands.
At
least I thought they were butterflies, until I found out that some of them were
moths.
But
wait – don’t moths come out at night, and butterflies during the day? That’s
how you know they’re butterflies, right?
Well,
it turns out some moths are out during the day along with the butterflies, so
now how do you tell the difference?
I
learned that one way to tell them apart by sight is that they have different
types of antennas.
Butterflies
have thin antennas, with tiny clubs on the end. Moths generally have shorter
antennas, without clubs, and the males have feathery ones.
Julia or Flambeau butterfly
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Erastria decrepitaria moth
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Antennas are very important for both moths
and butterflies, as they contain sensors for smelling nectar, identifying pheromones
emitted by potential mates, and detecting nutrients in soil. An organ at the base of the antenna also responds to
information about its position, helping to control orientation and balance
during flight.
Both
moths and butterflies also have a long tube-like proboscis that can be extended
to suck up liquids, like nectar from flowers.
A Caribbean Buckeye butterfly showing its curled proboscis (lower
right) and clubbed antenna
But
moths actually came into existence long before butterflies, or flowering plants
– over two hundred million years ago. Originally they had mouths made for chewing.
Moths may have later developed their proboscises for easier access to food
sources like tree sap.
Butterflies
eventually evolved from moths. They took advantage of the nectar available from
flowers open during the day, producing scents to attract pollinators.
Butterflies
are also often brilliantly colored, which makes them more visible to possible
mates, while at the same time informing would-be predators that they contain
toxic chemicals (obtained from plants consumed when they were in a caterpillar
state) and are therefore not good to eat.
However,
there are some flowers (like the night-blooming cereus) that open in the
evening, because they evolved to attract nocturnal moths.
And,
as I learned, a number of moths are colorful daytime feeders.
Certain
daytime moths protect themselves from predators by pretending to be dangerous
wasps, including the ones in the Virgin Islands that look like Jack Spaniards,
which have wicked stingers.
Horama
pretus moth
Jack Spaniard wasp
Because
many moths are active at night, they do tend to be darker and less colorful
than butterflies. Still, some daytime butterflies are also quite dark.
Caribbean Dusky Wing butterfly
Hammock Skipper butterfly
The skipper butterflies, like the
Hammock Skipper shown in the photo here, have larger bodies and heads than the
other butterflies, which can be confusing because that make them look more like
the generally stouter moths. Their antennas are also more like a hook than a
club.
Light-colored ones can also be
confusing. A few years ago there were a lot of white butterflies that hatched
at the same time, which was really fun. Most of them were butterflies called Great
Southern Whites, which are distinctive because the clubs on their antennas are
light blue.
Great Southern White butterfly
But
there were some brilliant white moths out there too.
Snowy Urola moth
People
like to see butterflies because they are beautiful, but they often also take on
a more mystical significance as powerful symbols of rebirth and transfiguration,
due to their seemingly miraculous physical changes. While most life forms go
through quite dramatic changes over the course of their development, few go
through such a strange and complete transition from creeping, chewing caterpillars
to graceful flying creatures.
Monarch Butterfly caterpillar
Monarch Butterfly on tropical milkweed
In
general moths are not viewed in the same inspirational and uplifting way that
butterflies are, despite their many similarities. Maybe that is because of our
primitive fears of dark things fluttering around in the night.
Black Witch moth
But
both moths and butterflies are wondrous in their complex transitions. Even
without applying any sort of mystical perspective, learning about butterflies
and moths increases our understanding of the amazing variety of life forms around
us, connecting us with the eons of natural history and evolution supporting our
own development – and potential for transformation.
