Am I a Butterfly or a Moth?

Why are some animals and insects hard to tell apart? For instance, how can you tell the difference between a frog and a toad, or a bee and a wasp? Some animals may appear the same, but they have important differences.

Let's examine moths and butterflies. These insects go through complete metamorphosis and end up almost identical. They look and move in similar ways, and they live in the same areas. But moths and butterflies are different in many ways.

1. Visit the Butterflies and Moths Web site at http://www.mesc.nbs.gov/butterfly/butterfly-faq.html and click on the question: “What is the difference between butterflies and moths?” Print out the information.

2. Use the chart below to list information about butterflies and moths. List details about the animals' appearance, food, where they live, and how they act.

3. Use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast butterflies and moths. List facts that are true only about butterflies in the left section and facts that are true only about moths in the right section. In the center overlapping section, list facts that are true about both butterflies and moths. For example, list they fly in the center section.

Go to the Entomology at Virginia Tech Web site and visit the feature “Insects in Motion” at http://everest.ento.vt.edu/~carroll/insect_video_home.html. View the short video. Then talk about the stages of development of the painted lady butterfly. Each member of the family can draw a stage of the painted lady's development. Put them all together and tell her story! Invite family members to make up riddles about each stage, such as “I don't have a hard shell and you can't eat me for breakfast. Which stage am I?” (the egg)