Weekly Puzzler Answer #17

It is amazing when you stop to consider that even though there are MANY more moths than butterflies, most people are only familiar with butterflies. Of course that’s because most moths are nocturnal. But Lepiodptera–which is the latin name for butterflies and moths and means “scale wing”–is mostly moths, more than 85%!

They are not all white or small, as you can see here by this lovely Tulip Tree Moth who showed up one night recently and stayed long enough for me to photograph her. I know it’s a she because of her antennae. Male moths have very feathery antennae, which they use for smelling the special perfumes, or pheromones, that the female moth gives off. Here is a photo of a male Tulip Tree Moth. Notice the much more feathery antennae. 

If you want to learn how to attract moths to your yard–this is especially fun if you have kids and want to show them what’s active in the night Click HERE .