What is a butterfly?
But·ter·fly (bùt-er-flì´) noun
Any of various insects of the order Lepidoptera, characteristically having slender bodies, knobbed antennae, and four broad, usually colorful, wings. The word Lepidoptera comes from the Greek words lepis meaning scale and pteron meaning wing. Butterfly wings are made of hardened membrane, strengthened by veins and covered by tiny scales, each a single color. The intricate designs of butterfly wings are produced by thousands of scales, arrayed in complex patterns and overlapping one another like shingles on a roof.
Butterfly or moth: what's the difference?
There is not one rule that covers all species, but in general these are the differences between the two:
- Most butterflies primarily fly during the day (are diurnal) and many moths fly at night (are nocturnal).
- Butterflies have knobbed antenna and moths have feathery or straight antenna.
- Butterfly bodies are usually slim, while moth bodies are plump and hairy.
- Moths usually spin silken cocoons to enclose their pupae or burrow underground to pupate.
- Butterflies form chrysalises.
Butterfly anatomy
Butterflies have two pairs of scaly wings and two segmented, clubbed antennae. Like all insects, they have a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and a segmented exoskeleton.
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