Please tell me everything you know about moths I want to have knowledge
bro are you even ready for this
moths are like. woagh... i fucking love them dude. im gonna tell you everything i've learned about them over the pasttttt. three? four? years. this is all from memory though so take it with a grain of salt/ research anything youre very curious about further (or ask me and ill do a deeper dive and give you a rundown. fuck i love researching things)
okay so firstly im gonna start with similarities and differences between most moths and most butterflies. the first being how to tell them apart. its fairly common belief that the differences lie in colours and sleeping habits, however, this is not the case. there are vibrant moths, dull butterflies, nocturnal butterflies, and diurnal moths!! which i looove. species diversity. hehe.
the main way to tell the difference between moths and butterflies is through their most differentiated physical trait- their antennae. moths tend to have feathered antennae, while butterflies antennae are more similar to other insects, sort of like little sticks with little curved bulbs on the ends of them. here, ill provide reference images:
moth antennae(cecropia moth(at least im pretty sure)):
butterfly antennae (im not a butterfly expert, i have no idea what kinda butterfly this is, but if i had to guess id say monarch, based on the orange colouring):
another thing you may have noticed is that moths are very fluffy compared to butterflies! while butterflies do have a good amount of hair, usually on their thorax, moths typically have far more, all over their bodies.
enough about butterflies, lets talk moths.
why are moths so dusty? well, theyre absolutely COVERED in scales, and their 'dust' is old scales that fall off of their wings periodically. moth wings appear fluffy and hairy, but in reality, its all scales. theyre almost microscopic, causing the soft, fluffy, near powdery texture.
moths patterns and colouring tend to attempt to mimic things. there are many moths that adapt wood or leaflike colourings and patterns, while others attempt to look like flowers or fruit, and some adapt false eyes to attempt to scare predators. their main predators are bats and spiders, at least for the nocturnal moths, diurnal moths mainly have to worry about other insects and birds.
contrary to popular belief, most moths dont eat clothes and other clothen (thats not a real word but bear with me) household items. there are very very few species of moth that eat into adulthood - such as clothes moths. most moths, during their metamorphosis, develop a proboscis, which, like butterflies, is a long straw like structure that they use to drink flower nectar.
yes, that means that moths also pollinate!
most adult moths survive on a liquid diet, and outside of their proboscis, do not have mouths. even if they did, they do not have the correct enzymes to break down the fibres in cloth.
while clothes moths can be common, if you keep your living spaces clean, organized, and folding your cloth, you should be able to avoid clothes moths. they really only live in environments that they can live in. similar things go for pantry moths- a very common household moth, which, as their name suggests, like to live in pantries and cupboards. however, they wont be much of a problem if you clean regularly and keep all your food safely sealed - which you should be doing anyways for your own health.
now, back to the topic of moth mouths, some moths dont have mouths at all. one great example of this is, my favourite moth of all time, the cecropia moth!
they are the largest moth found in north america! isnt that neat? theyre silk moths, by the way. adult cecropia moths dont have mouths, or digestive systems, so they have a fairly short lifespan of about 2 weeks, just enough time to find a mate and reproduce. the way they find mates is actually really cool. the female cecropia moths put out pheromones that the male picks up through its antennae. the male can fly for miles through the night to find a mate.
moths usually mate for a whole day. it is visibly evident, you can see them pressing their abdomens together, like this:
if you find moths like this, please dont disturb them :)
im going to use this post to talk about silkmoths, as well! more specifically, domestic silkmoths and the abuse they go through for the silk industry.
most of my information on this issue will be coming from this article, which i recommend you read if you want to know more about this issue.
it is estimated that billions, nearly trillions, of silkworms, or silkmoth larvae, are killed annually during the production of silk.
silk is created by spinning the cocoons of silkworms into threads, then weaving those threads together. while this sounds harmless, and very well could be, and sometimes is, through the production of ahimsa silk, most silks are made by killing the pupating silkworms by boiling or baking them alive in their cocoons. ahimsa silk, however, is made from the cocoons of already hatched silkmoths, as to not harm the creatures. please do further research on this - and if you are to buy silk, look into the kind, and what goes into it first - if you are at all concerned about this issue.
back to moths, did you know the reason they swarm to artificial light, is because to them, it appears like the moon? the moon can be a source of navigation for moths, and they become deeply confused by artificial light, and have a tendency to fly and swarm around it.
thats all i can think of off the top of my head! if you have questions, PLEASE ask, i would be delighted to answer them, whether through my memory, or being privileged with the need to do further research on my favourite creatures!
Latest in my series of illustrations exploring the symbolism and folklore behind fruits, while also just drawing pretty plants bcuz they’re pretty.
After internet and IRL actual book researching, I found mulberries had far fewer references than the other fruits I’ve illustrated so far.
The ones in this illustration include...
- silk worms, aka the caterpillars of the domestic silk moth aka bombyx morri, have a diet that is nearly exclusively mulberry leaves.
- mulberries can be found white, red, or black. There is an ancient story which ‘explains’ the reason for this, called Pyramus and Thisbe. They were young lovers from enemy families, and planned to meet one night under a mulberry tree to declare their love. However, when Thisbe arrived she saw a lioness with a bloody mouth, she runs away. When Pyramus arrives, he sees the lioness pawing at Thisbe’s cloak (which she dropped when running away). Pyramus assumes Thisbe was eaten, so he stabs himself through the heart with his sword. When Thisbe saw this, she stabs herself too. All the spraying and splattering blood stained the mulberries of the tree red forever.
- and finally, for something modern; Mulberry brand handbags.
MULBERRIES and all my other Fruits illustrations are available as A5 glossy prints from my Etsy store HERE
basket babies… silk moths don’t really fly, only flutter about. they don’t have mouth parts, and only live for a couple of days… i didn’t exactly intend for these little ones to hatch, but i’m happy to meet them in this form. i think they might both be girls since they don’t seem interested in mating.
i made them this little bowl of moss to sit in, i thought they might enjoy it… they live in my basket and have been keeping me company everywhere i go… <3
