No Respect, no respect at all…Unfortunately when most people think of moths they think of the small grey moths that flew out of grandma’s closet or your uncle’s wallet. Hopefully, after you have finished reading this article you will have a new-found respect for moths.
Moths and butterflies are insects which together form the order called Lepidoptera, meaning ‘scaly-winged’. The patterns and colors of their wings are formed by thousands of tiny scales, overlapping like tiles on a roof. These scales are modified hairs. One myth I want to squash right now is that if you touch a butterfly’s or moth’s wing and the “powder” rubs off , the butterfly will not be able to fly. WRONG…As we just said the “powder” is actually tiny scales and a butterfly/moth sheds these scales throughout its lifetime. Both species have a similar life cycle, they undergo a complete metamorphosis from egg to caterpillar and from pupa to adult. That’s where the similarities stop.
However, after that it is very easy to tell the difference.
Let’s begin with the antenna. All butterflies have long thin antenna with buds at the end where as moths have feather like antenna. Though they lack noses, moths are expert sniffers. They detect odor molecules using their antennae instead of through nostrils. Male giant silkworm moths have elaborate, feather-shaped antennae with hair like scent receptors that allow them to detect a single molecule of a female moth’s sex hormone from 7 miles. Butterflies tend to fold their wings vertically up over their backs. Moths tend to hold their wings in a tent-like fashion that hides the abdomen. Butterflies are primarily diurnal, flying in the daytime. Moths are generally nocturnal, flying at night. However, a few fly during the day. Cocoons and chrysalis are protective coverings for the pupa. The pupa is the intermediate stage between the larva and adult. A moth makes a cocoon, which is wrapped in a silk covering. A butterfly makes a chrysalis, which is hard, smooth and has no silk covering.
Moths outnumber butterflies by more than 10 to 1 and the ratio is growing as we discover more moths each year. There are upward of 11,000 moth species in the United States alone — that’s more than all the bird and mammal species in North America combined. Moths can range in size from smaller than a pencil tip “Micro moths” to bigger than a songbird. The one pictured on the top right is the largest moth in Ohio is the Cerporia moth, and it has a wing span of over six inches. Moths are organized by families. Geometer, Sphinx, Silk, Darts, Plume, Hook tips, Emeralds and Snouts are just some of these families. Because of their abundance and their ability to lay hundreds of eggs, moths are major players at the bottom of the food chain. Once the eggs have hatched, caterpillars are one of the most important things that moths offer in the ecosystem. It is said that “They are food for everything else.” An estimated 95 percent of nesting birds rear their young on insects, and caterpillars make up a significant part of that diet. “A single pair of breeding chickadees must find 6,000 to 9,000 caterpillars to rear one clutch of young”, according to Doug Tallamy, a professor of entomology and wildlife ecology at the University of Delaware. “Even though seeds are a nutritious winter staple, insects are best for feeding growing fledglings. Surprisingly, insects contain more protein than beef, to a chickadee, these are life-saving morsels full of fat and protein.” Moths are also a major food source for bats, night hawks, and whippoorwills.
Another myth I want to debunk is that all moths eat clothes. It is true that there are a few species that have the ability to digest wool fibers and some moths suck nectar, but most don’t eat at all. The adult Luna moth, for instance, doesn’t even have a mouth. All the eating is done by the caterpillar.
We don’t often think of moths as pollinators, perhaps because we aren’t outside in the dark watching them work. While butterflies get all the credit, there are plenty of moths moving pollen from flower to flower, including geometer moths, owlet moths, and sphinx moths. Some species of orchids are only pollinated by moths. Moon flowers, evening primrose, and other flowers that only open at night are pollinated by moths. The Yucca plant require the help of yucca moths to cross-pollinate their flowers, and each yucca plant species has its own moth partner. There are a few day flying moths that are major pollinators. The Hummingbird Clearwing pictured on the right is one of these. Along with it’s cousin the Snowberry Clearwing look like hummingbirds but instead of a long beak, they have long tongues which allow them to reach deep inside the flower to drink the nectar distributing pollen each time they get a drink.
Hopefully now you have a new appreciation for moths and they finally can get some respect!
