Butterflies Vs Moth- A Detailed Explanation About Their Lifecycle and Lifespan

You might have seen many people with a question mark on their face, and wondering do moths and butterflies come from caterpillars? The answer to it is a yes, Moths and butterflies do come from caterpillars. The young ones of a moth and butterfly are caterpillars, or in other words, you can say that the initial stage of a butterfly and moths are in the form of a caterpillar. The adult butterflies and moths take their original shape from passing through the stage of a caterpillar.

How a butterfly develops into an adult from being a caterpillar

Young minds always think about how nature has so many miracles that living things can entirely change their shape and structure to become something new as never before. The process of becoming a butterfly from the very initial stage of being a larva is a wondrous and miraculous process that needs deep understanding and a quench for knowledge. A caterpillar also known as larva hatches from an egg get themselves covered with leaves and further grows in size and shape resulting in shedding of their skin one fine day. Further they hang in an upside down fashion from a twig and spin themselves like a cocoon. Inside it forms a protective case and undergoes a phase of transformation to turn out as a butterfly or a moth.

*  The detailed Lifecycle of a butterfly

There are about fifteen thousand species of butterflies existing in the world, and the scientists are in the process of discovering more. But all the butterflies follow the same process of metamorphosis and lifecycle to develop into an adult butterfly from a caterpillar. To talk about the very first step that happens for the development of a caterpillar and laying up of eggs is the mating that occurs between a male butterfly and female butterfly. Once the coupling between the two gender happens then, the female butterfly lays eggs and then starts the process of formation of a caterpillar from the eggs. There is a unique material inside the caterpillars known as imaginal disks which are made of small-sized cells and are a helpful thing while the caterpillars transform themselves into a fully grown butterfly. These imaginal disks are present in almost all the parts of the butterfly’s body.

Now let us talk out about the after the process of hatching up of eggs. Now you must be clear about Do moths and butterflies come from caterpillars? So after the hatching up of eggs comes the caterpillars which can be considered as food swallowing machines. Yes, this is right though they are tiny creatures and small in size, but they have a great capacity for eating and eat up like hooligans. These little creatures act as damn hungry demons and feed upon every bit of food that they can consume. They can eat as much as they can receive, they can eat up even more than their body size. So this eating process continues, and the caterpillar starts growing up to such an extent that there arises a need of shedding. Yes, you must have got the thought of a snake, the shedding process is somewhat similar to the skin shedding of a snake. The caterpillars further shed their skin again and again up until they reach a mature shape and size to undergo the process of metamorphosis to get transformed into a butterfly.

After this, the metamorphosis process starts in which you can see the caterpillars hanging themselves hanging upside down and wrapping themselves in a silky cocoon. Now when the larva gets tucked in the cocoon, some enzymes come into action which is responsible for the dissolution of the larva into nutrient soup. The imaginal disks do not dissolve, and they start the process of building up the complete structure of the butterfly. The imaginal disks arrange themselves to line up with the body parts of the butterfly by moving to their respective positions. After they attain their appropriate places, the cells absorb the sop and further multiply thus taking shape and structure of a butterfly. Finally, the butterfly starts taking its shape and turn out into beautiful, pretty fluttering insects. The wings and antennas harden slowly which enables them to fly, and this process continues for the formation of more new butterfly and moths. Another thing to take into notice is that a butterfly does not grow at all once it has attained its shape and size. It is their final size which will not change and will remain the same until they die. A butterfly takes its size when it pupates so the size of the grown caterpillar until it transforms into a butterfly is the actual size that a butterfly will possess till it is alive.

How many eggs can a butterfly lay at a time?

You must have very well understood the enter lifecycle of a butterfly and must have got an answer to your question about Do moths and butterflies come from caterpillars? But many must be having a question in their mind as to how man eggs can a butterfly lay at a time and how many caterpillars can be seen once the female butterflies lay its eggs. The answer to this is that female butterfly can lay about 100 to 300 eggs at a time, and this can be done individually as well as in groups too.

The lifespan of butterflies and moths

We all know that lifespan varies from animals to animals and also between the species of the animals. So it is difficult to answer a very sure shot answer to this question. But yes, we will surely explain the average and adult lifespan of moths and butterflies. The lifespan of the different species of moths and butterflies also varies according to the place where they are in, the latitude, the time of year in which they have become an adult, etc.

*  Adult life span of moths and butterflies

Studies prove that some species of winged adult butterflies and moths live only for a pair of a week. Even the females are expected to have a longer lifespan in comparison to their male counterparts on account of the number of days. The females can live up to four to five days more than the male butterflies. It is said that those butterflies that transform into an adult during late summer or winter are expected to live about eight to nine months.

*  The average lifespan of butterflies

Since different species of butterflies have a different lifespan, people tend to acquire knowledge about the average life term of butterflies. The answer to this question depends on the calculation of birth and death rates of butterflies which is not very clear and scientists do not have an accurate number for this calculation. But it can be said that there are only a few butterflies that can survive a more substantial number of days and enjoy their adulthood as these butterflies have a very short lifespan. Some scientist says, that if we sit to calculate an average lifespan of butterflies, then it cannot be more than a month, but there are always exceptions to this figure which is a shortcoming to reach an accurate number of days of a butterflies lifespan.

The alike features of moths and butterflies

Moths and butterflies belong to the same Lepidoptera family which have their initial stage as of a larva or caterpillar. The caterpillars can be a huge threat to the agricultural sector as it ranks high on the pest list which can harm the crops and fields. Many people think Do moths and butterflies come from caterpillars? And yes bot these emerge out of a caterpillar, though small and tiny but can cause harm to the crops and fields. Butterflies are less dangerous and do not cause harm, but moths surely can lead you into a state of famine if they infest fields and farms all over the world. If you are trying to figure out the difference between a moth and a butterfly by having a look at the caterpillar, then it is impossible to determine the difference just by looking at the caterpillar. Talking about their mouthparts, both butterflies and moths have similar mouthparts which consist of long tubes known as a proboscis. When these insects are not using these tubes, it remains in a coiled state. Both moths and butterflies have two sets of wings getting out a total of four wings for each.

Here is how you can differentiate moths and butterflies

There are minute differences which can help you to differentiate a moth and a butterfly. Here are few of them:

*  Antenna structure

The antennas or feelers can help you to distinguish amongst butterflies and moths. Usually, the butterflies have thin antennas and have club shape at the posterior end whereas moths have a feathery antenna that resembles the shape of a comb. But in some cases, the moths also have clubbed end antennas which might make it difficult for you to distinguish butterflies and moths based on their antennas.

*  Colour of the wings

We all know that butterflies are magnificent creatures and come in various bright colours. The wings of a butterfly may have different prints and bright colours whereas nocturnal moths are usually brown, grey, black and white in colour. Even the prints are hardly in a zigzag pattern which helps in concealing and camouflaging them when they are resting. There are exceptions in all cases, and you can also find butterflies that have a single colour tone and comes without any prints on their wings.

*  Structure of their bodies

We can also differentiate moths and butterflies depending on their body structure. The moths have their bodies covered with hair as they need heat during winter and colder climates, their hairy bodies help them to preserve heat and keep them warm in such climates. Their bodies are stout, and their wings have a scaled pattern which gives the moths a fluffy appearance. Talking about butterflies, they have slim and trim body structure and smooth body structure. They are sleek and have slender abdomen, and they do not have hairy bodies as they can absorb heat directly and also do not have any scales on their wings.

*  Pupae state

As stated earlier it is hard to make out the difference between a butterfly and a moth by having a look at their pupae. But still, there is a minute difference which can help you to distinguish between them. It is considered that the moths spin a silk cocoon and then proceed towards the metamorphosis stage whereas a butterfly usually forms a chrysalis which is like an exposed pupa. There are lot any exceptions in this case of determining on the basis of pupae, and you can hardly make out the difference. It is basically the guessing game that you can play on spotting pupae and wondering if it will turn to a butterfly or a moth?

*  The posture of rest

You can even make out of you are seeing a butterfly or a moth by having a look at their resting state and posture. When moths rest, they tend to spread their wings towards their sides and then go for asleep whereas butterflies are just the opposite. Butterflies tend to fold their wings on their backs and then opt for some resting period. Yes, there are exceptions in this case also as there are few butterflies that fold their wings and also keep them open while resting. Some butterflies also form the jet plane pattern which is the state of neither opening the wing fully neither closing it on the whole.

*  Activeness

It is considered that the butterflies are day lovers and are very active during the daytime whereas moths are active during the night time.

*  Attractions

A butterfly gets attracted to flowers and petals and goes forward for sucking the nectar whereas moths are usually attracted towards the light, and you can find them scattered on night bulbs and places where there is a significant amount of light available.