Among the traveling frogs, what is the companion of the same person? Little butterflies? Little moths? Silly is not clear...
How to distinguish between butterflies and moths is really difficult for experts and enthusiasts who are not specialized in butterfly or moth research. During the period of searching for butterflies and taking butterflies in Gongshan, many enthusiastic people showed me large "butterflies" and told me that every night under the lights outside his house, there would often be a large variety of "green butterflies", "flower butterflies", and "long-tailed" big "butterflies" to patronize.
Ningbo tail silkworm moth
Milky spotted lamp moth
When I tell them it's a moth, they say that the moth is an "ugly monster" and the butterfly is a "little fairy," which I don't know yet. In fact, some moths are really more beautiful than butterflies, and butterflies and moths are not distinguished by the "beauty" and "ugliness" of the appearance.
Butterflies and moths with Lepidoptera, is a pair of "cousin" sisters, butterflies and moths are not biological classification, is the habitual name of people, lepidoptera insects are divided into two major categories of butterflies and moths, moth insects are more than 10 times more butterfly insects. But why do we see more butterflies and fewer moths? This is because butterflies come out during the day, while moths are mostly late.
"Dark beams smell swallows, night candles see moths", "Nanxuan night insect weaving has been promoted, North Moth around the residual candle" There are already true descriptions of moths in ancient poems.
At night, under the electric lights outside the mountain people, you see moths flying in, there is not a single butterfly, this is because the moths have a phototropism.
Moth researchers catch moths, that is, put a big lure lamp in the mountain, which is several times brighter than ordinary bulbs, and put a large white cloth like a movie screen behind the lure lamp, where there are many moths, and all kinds of moths are scattered in an hour or two.
Butterflies and moths are spirits of nature and need our good care. So how to distinguish between butterflies and moths, I will teach you a few tricks:
One is to look at the tentacles
The antennae of butterflies are rod-shaped, hammer-shaped, or linear, spoon-shaped. The antennae of species of the Butterfly and Butterfly family are swollen and curved, and are hockey club-shaped; the antennae of the Butterflies and Butterflies are hammer-shaped; and the tips of the Butterflies are spoon-shaped, with the tips protruding. The antennae of the eye and ring butterflies are nearline, and their ends are also significantly expanded. In either case, the antennae are swollen at the ends, while the antennae of moths are feathered, filamentous, serrated or ctenophoric, but regardless of the number of species, the antennae ends are not expanded.
The second is to look at the wing shape
Butterfly wings are broad, the wings of the butterfly are triangular, and most of the outer margins of the hindwings have more than 2 caudal protrusions, but some do not; the wings of the family Sphicaidae are rounded and the hindwings have no tail protrusions; the wings of the Butterfly family have a rounded or wavy outer rim, and some of the outer margins are curved; most of the forewings of the pink butterflies are triangular and have no tailed protrusions; the wings of the Lycenotidae are large and wide, the forewings are curved, and the outer edges of the hindwings are smooth or wavy, in short, the wings of the butterfly are mostly wide and arc-shaped, while moths are mostly narrow, and the forewing margins of the forewings are mostly straight.
Three looks at the abdomen
Moths are short and thick, while butterflies are slender. The abdomen of the butterfly is the third body segment of the butterfly, immediately after the thorax, except for some species, most of which are more behind the thorax. The abdomen of butterflies includes the digestive system, respiratory system, circulatory system, reproductive system, etc., and the normal number of butterfly abdomen is 8 segments for male butterflies and 7 segments for female butterflies.
Pine oak leaf moth
Colorful musk butterflies
Look at the scales on the wings
The scales on the wings of butterflies are thinner and thinner, while the moth scales are dense and thick and easy to scatter; the butterfly scales are often more vivid in color, while the moth scales are mostly dark in color.
20th Large SilkWorm Moth
Ferry with green butterflies
Five look at the way flight and rest
Butterflies fly higher and farther, and can travel long distances or soar into the sky. At rest, the wings are often erect on the back or spread to the sides. Most moths, on the other hand, are stout and difficult to make long-distance leisurely flights, and when resting, their wings are flat on the back of the body, in the shape of a roof ridge.
Butterflies are active during the day, no nocturnal species, no tendency to light, and moths are mostly active at night, have a strong tendency to light, "moth fire" idiom tells the life habits of moths. Some moths are also active during the day and often mix with butterflies. But as long as we carefully identify it, it can still be distinguished.
As long as we master the above methods, we can distinguish between butterflies and moths, and we will not call large moths into large butterflies!
Photo/Text: Wang Yanchun
Source: Gongshan Nature Reserve Gongshan Management and Protection Branch
Can you tell if a frog's friend is a small butterfly or a small moth?
Editor: City Times pays a little attention to Wu Wei
Review: Zhu Xiaohan