Why do most people like butterflies but not moths?
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Moths (caterpillars) eat my wool sweaters, butterflies pollinate flowers for fruits and veggies.
Butterflies give kisses.
Moths give hickeys.
Madama Butterfly – Critically acclaimed classical opera (Like)
Madame Moth – Brothel Keeper in Star Wars (No likey)
Moths typically have bigger bodies in proportion to their wings. Whereas butterflies look more like flying flowers, with just enough body to hold those enormous wings together, moths are quite visibly bugs, and hairy ones at that. This effect is compounded by the way moths usually fold their wings back when they rest, while butterflies don’t pack away the pretty.
Those proportionately smaller wings also mean that moths have to beat their wings faster, and that they have more air speed. People get freaked by zippy bugs. Butterflies float and flutter unmenacingly.
Moths are out circling lights at night, butterflies are flittering from flower to flower in the sunlight.
I like them all.
Right now up here in the Sierra foot hills there is the annual hatching of the Oak moth caterpillars. Coincides perfectly with all the nesting songbirds that have gazillions of little green caterpillars hanging from their silk threads in the trees, just waiting to be picked off. haha
A smorgasbord of food for nestling birds.
Nature has no bias and neither should we. Everything serves a purpose.
@thorninmud I think you got it!
Yeah, Luna moths are cool @ARE_you_kidding_me. What started this is a post showed up on my feed where pretty girls are wearing light, flowing cloaks that look like butterfly wings. I have a niece who is a model, so I shared it with her. She loved it. I said, “But I think the top one is a moth. Don’t be a moth.” We agreed it was a Luna Moth.
I like moths except when they get into my grain or clothes.
Moths are co-dependent with wool and light bulbs. Butterflies are free.
I’m a big fan of silk moths.
If you watch a butterfly, err…flutter by, it flies like it’s shit scared & can’t comprehend the nature of flight
Mostly because butterflies are precieved as more estheticly beautiful. Their colors are ver majestic in a way.
I think it has more to do with @Pachy‘s description. Moths look and sound like BUGS, heavy, luggy bugs, and butterfly look and sound like silent fairies.
I do admit to sacrificing moths under the porch light for the little tree frogs around here over the years. They congregate under the porch light at night on the deck in the summers and they will take moths right from your fingers. I used to get a little high and catch moths to feed the tree frogs at night. Things country girls do for amusement. haha
I think moths are really cool, but I require them to reside outdoors. At least, they are much easier to evict than mosquitoes, spiders, or houseflies.
I remember Butterflies are Free. I was about 13 when I saw it. OMG,Goldie Hawn showed her boob! I didn’t think she was a very nice person in the end, though.
I haven’t read the previous answers. It’s because moths are nighttime creatures. They fly around in the dark and might land on us. I used to be terrified of even small moths. My Dad would remove them from my bedroom.
Then I moved to Australia. Here the moths can be the size of a freaking Hercules carrier. I either had to get over it or go home. Plus, there are so many other worse insects.
@thorninmud pretty much nailed it.
Moths tend to be large, visibly hairy critters that are so kinetic in motion that you can’t tell of they’re pretty or not.
Nobody can agree what the diffference between butterflies and moths, so I’m going to define it. Butterflies are the pretty ones that we like. Moths are the other ones that eat clothes and fly at night. You are welcome
Thank you @ibstubro for this wonderful example to illustrate my point. It might be called at moth but, by my definition, which we will all now take as the standard definition, it is a butterfly. You are welcome again.
I don’t understand. What wonderful example? It was a moth. An ungainly, heavy, thumping moth. It was pretty, sure, but it’s still a moth.
Plus there are some ugly butterflies, but ugly butterflies are still preferable to pretty moths.
Probably because most moths are nocturnal, they zip around and thump into shit and freak you out when they spin around lights and crap. As diurnal creatures, most people have a natural aversion to the night and its denizens. Maybe I’m going into it a little too much. Some moths are as elegant as butterflies.
When I moved to Winnipeg I discovered red underwing
moths, and I thought they were so cool, how they’re hiding pretty red wings under gray ones. Known as catocala moths, there’s tons of different species and a few times I caught some of these blue ones.
I’ve also seen luna moths and some that look like the ones in Seek’s link, although I’m guessing many of these aren’t in north america. I like deathhead moths too, but I’ve never actually seen one for real.
Creepy ass moth.
Coolness. My son has a HUGE luna moth in his bug collection.
Okay, @Stinley. As long as we’re on the same page.
I concur with your assessment.
Oh, @Berserker , your creepy moth is neat! I want to see one of those.
The “skull” on its thorax is its defense mechanism. Predators are afraid of it, but I always used to wonder, how the hell are animals and insects able to know that a skull means death, let alone what a skull is? My guess is it’s because it looks like a face, and only birds are afraid of it because it looks like a human face. I’d gladly stand corrected though, it’s really weird. Other butterflies and caterpillars have shapes on them which looks like eyes or faces that scare away birds, and maybe some insects too, but I don’t think insects see lke birds do. (flies for example, if I’m not mistaken only see lights)
It may have something to do with the symmetry, rather than the resemblance to a face. Or..the impression of eyes looking at it.
Yeah. Since the wings are made for camouflage, maybe the would be predator thinks, by seeing the “skull”, that said pair of eyes belong to something much bigger if the moth is blending in with tree bark and whatnot.
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