butterfly v. moth

Menelaus blue morpho butterfly

• Butterflies are often brightly colored; moths are generally plain.
• Moths have stout, furry bodies; butterflies have slender, hairless bodies.
• Butterflies have thin, club-shaped antennae, whereas moths have feathery antennae.
• Moths are nocturnal; butterflies are diurnal.
• Moth forewings are coupled to their hindwings differently than butterfly wings are.
• Moths rest with their wings spread out to their sides; butterflies fold their wings up above their backs.
• A moth pupa metamorphoses in a protective silk cocoon; a butterfly pupa, called a chrysalis (plural: chrysalides), is exposed.

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