By Tracy Munro
“What’s the difference between a moth and a butterfly?”
“Moths are scary!”
“Moths only come out at night.”
“Moths are stupid, they just bash into lights!”
“What is the point of moths?”
“Moths eat your clothes!”
“Moths all look the same, brown and boring!”
And so the list goes on of the many thoughts and statements about moths I have encountered over the last few years. It is fair to say that when I was a kid I may even have agreed with some of them, I mean why do moths bash into lights?!
It does not take much digging into the mystical world of moths however to discover that most of these statements are either not true or only partly true. If you think that all moths are brown and boring then you have obviously never encountered the glorious Garden Tiger, a delightfully patterned garden moth which would put many a butterfly to shame.
Let’s take look at these statements one at a time:
What’s the difference between a moth and a butterfly?
Moths and butterflies are closely related and belong to the order Lepidoptera. The word Lepidoptera comes from the Greek, meaning scaly winged and this is exactly what moths and butterflies have: tiny microscopic scales covering their wings. The antennae of butterflies are long and narrow stemmed with a club at the tip; they are never feathered. Moths on the other hand have much more variable antennae with the vast majority of them being feathered, and really rather cool looking. I mean have you seen the Kentish Glory up close? What feathers!
Just to keep us on our toes there are of course exceptions to the rule. For example, the brightly coloured day-flying Burnets have clubbed antenna, like a butterfly.
The second main difference between butterflies and moths is to do with some complicated coupling device which holds the fore and hind wings together in flight. In moths this takes the form of a spine, known as the frenulum, which runs from the base of the hindwing and fits into a catch on the underside of the forewing. In butterflies the wings are joined by a humeral lobe which is a projection from the hindwings which passes forwards beneath the forewings. That is all somewhat above me but if you want to learn more, the eminent lepidopterist E.B Ford explains it much more clearly in his book Moths published in 1955.
Moths are scary!
Yes, I hear you. When I was a kid I used to shout “aagghh what’s that?!” as a Large Yellow Underwing flew past my face to bash itself mercilessly off the kitchen light bulb again and again. “What big, ugly, scary-looking creatures” I would think. But, when they flash that gloriously coloured yellow hindwing, you are awestruck that such a big drab brown moth has such wonderful colours hidden away just waiting for you to discover them. Never judge a book by its cover as my mother would say…
There is such a huge array of moths out there – 2500 in fact in the UK – and they are far from scary. How can you not fail to be charmed by the cute and cuddly Canary-shouldered Thorn?
Moths only come out at night
Yes, most moths do fly at night, but we do in fact we have around 100 species of day-flying moths here in the UK, with some of them being common and easy to spot. Some great examples are the Six-spot Burnet which could easily be mistaken for a flying beetle when it is buzzing about on the coast. The day-flying Chimney Sweeper is another species I often see while out searching for the Small Blue butterfly and one that often causes confusion with said Small Blue as it can look very similar if you just glimpse it. Look out in flowery grassland for Mother Shipton and see if you can see the old witch’s face on the forewings.
My favourite day-flying moth though has to be the magnificent Emperor Moth, a chunky fluffy moth with an eyespot on all four wings. It is a sight to behold as it zips towards you over the heather. The males are day-flying searching for females which predominantly only fly at night, so how does that work?! Another weird quirk in the mysterious world of moths.
All our Species on the Edge target moth species – the Transparent, Slender Scotch, Talisker and New Forest burnet moths – are day-flying moths. If you’re based in Argyll and the Inner Hebrides, try and see if you can find one. They’re stunning little moths – a real treat of a find!
Moths are stupid, they just bash into lights!
“Like a moth to a flame” is an old saying – but what does it mean and why are moths attracted to light?
I’m not sure science truly knows the answer yet, there are lots of suggested reasons out there:
- They think it’s the moon and use it for navigation
- It resembles the frequency of light emitted by female moths
- Bright lights are just confusing and disorientating
- They think it’s the sun and it’s time to go to bed
- Bright lights at night confuse the moth as to which way is up
- Are they trying to fly through the light to get to the darkness beyond!
Recent research suggests that it is the penultimate theory in this list that may be the correct one, after all, for the over 300 million years that moths have existed the night sky has been brighter than the ground underneath them, thus allowing them to work out which way is up and which way is down.
What is not in doubt is that brightness and frequency of modern light is helping to drive a decline in moth numbers. The artificial lights makes moths more obvious to predators, such as bats. It is also thought that the increased night-time light levels can leave some moths disorientated and therefore not able to carry on with normal behaviours such as breeding and egg laying. You can read more about the impact of light pollution on moths here: Why is light pollution bad for moths?
So, the next time you crack the joke “What did the moth say to the lamp? I find you very enlightening!”, while you have a wee laugh please do consider the impact our lights are having on many of our insects and shut the curtains or turn off that extra bright garden light.
What is the point of moths?
Good question. For me personally butterflies and moths are intrinsically important in their own right and worthy of conservation effort. Moths are part of life on Earth and an important part of its rich biodiversity. They have been around for at least 150 million years; imagine the changes they have seen in the world over this time. The mind boggles!
Both butterflies and moths have fascinating life-cycles that are used in many countries to teach children about the natural world. The transformation from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis is one of the wonders of nature. I love the sheer fascination on a child’s face (or an adult’s) when they see some of our moths up close and personal for the first time!
All those lovely garden birds that we all enjoy feeding and watching, moths are a vital food source for many of them. According to the British Trust for Ornithology, one Blue Tit chick eats a whooping 100 moth caterpillars per day! That’s an awful lot of moths.
Moths also play an important role in pollination. It is believed that although the number of night visits to plants by moths is less than the huge numbers of visits the same plant will receive from day-flying pollinators, the moth visits are thought to be more effective (but more research is needed in this area).
Unlike butterflies, you don’t need to wait for a warm sunny day to see moths. As we have already explored, moths are attracted to light so why not build yourself your own moth trap and explore just how rich and diverse the moth night life is in your own back garden. Alternatively, leave your outside lights on on a mild night, or go out with a torch at night to flowers that are attracting pollinators by day. Or you could even try mixing up your own nectar i.e sugar and wine ropes.
Before you know it I bet you are hooked on trying to identify them and seeing how many new species you can count. You can then submit your data to the moth recording scheme and make your sightings count towards building data that can help protect our incredible moths for future generations to enjoy: National Moth Recording Scheme.
Moths eat your clothes
Well, strictly speaking, it is not actually the moths that eat your clothes but the larvae. Only a very few species do this and since they eat natural fibres it is most likely only going to be that itchy, old woolly thing that your grandmother knitted back in the day and which is probably languishing in the back of a wardrobe. Surely it could go to some use as moth food? Sorry Grandma!
Moths are boring, they all look the same, brown and boring!
If that has been your experience of moths so far then it is time to get yourself along to one of our east coast moth mornings to see what you have been missing out on! Some moths are magnificently vibrant and can out-shine even the most colourful of our butterflies. Think Garden Tiger Moth (above) and the unmistakable Elephant-hawk Moth; as the young girl in the picture said “wooh it’s the same colour as my jacket – it’s soooo pink!”
Not to be out-done is the much smaller, but very regal-looking, White Ermine moth, looking like it’s dressed in its fur coat all ready for an evening out.
There truly is a wonderful array of moths and so many of them are hidden in our own back gardens if you just know where to look. Other moths may not be flashy and shiny but they are mesmerising in their own right with a unique blend of camouflage. Some choose to blend in with their background, such as the Peppered Moth. The usual form of this moth is white peppered with black spots to allow it to blend with lichen on the trees it favours. In heavily industrialised areas a blacker form of the moth exist which allows it to blend with darker, soot-stained trunks. It is often known as Darwin’s moth as it is an early example of natural selection in action. The number of moths exhibiting the dark form increased during the industrial revolution, allowing the moth better camouflage. As the air pollution levels dropped post-industrial revolution, the paler form began to dominate again.
Even the Peppered moth’s caterpillar does an excellent job of camouflaging!
And have you ever seen a Buff-tip moth? It looks just like a stick! Here’s one we found at the Species on the Edge launch party near Tain back in June 2023.
Isn’t nature fascinating? We hope you are now a moth super-fan just like us. Happy Mothing folks!
