BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS (the name is probably due to the popular belief that it steal,: butter and milk; or it may refer to the color of the excrement; ef. Dutch boterschijte, schett 1. Insects of the order Lepidoptera which are not separable by any distinct line of structural char acters. (See LEPIDOPTERA. ) They agree in essentials and their popular separation is a prac tical rather than a natural one. Perhaps the nearest we may come to a definite distinction is to call butterflies all those Lepidoptera whose pairs of wings are never fastened together in flight : and call moths all those whose wings are so united.
"The popular division of Lepidoptera into 'butterflies' (Ithopalo•era) and 'moths' (Iletero eera) is quite unscientific, the butterflies being more nearly related to the higher moths than these to the lower moths. It has been proposed to separate the three lowest families • which have . . . a jugum on each fore wing, as Jugatte, from all other Lepidopte•a—FrenaLe: also to divide the families with incomplete pupa (Incomplette) from those with obtect pupa (Obteeta-) ; also to separate the lowest family on account of the structure of the first maxillae as a suborder (Laeiniata) distinct from all other families Illaustellatal. On the whole, it is bet
ter not to adopt ant' division of the Lepidoptera between the order and the family." (O. IL Car penter, bisects, New York. 1599.) Butterflies, as a rule, go abroad in the daytime, seeking no concealment, and are brightly colored. while moths more usually fly in the twilight or at night. and are subdued in hue, Butterflies are distinguished by the terminal knob (or occa sionally hook) of the antennae, whence the com mon group-name Rhopalocera. while the antennae of moths (Heterocera) are usually otherwise in form, often filifol m or feathery. Butterflies have the habit of holding the wings in a vertical posi tion over the back when at rest, while moths usually keep them flat.
Of the Lepidoptera represented in North Amer lea, the following families may be called butter flies: ilesperiidte. Lyewnida., Lemoniida', Nym phalidw, and Payilioniche; and all the rest moths, among which the Pterophorida.. Tineidte. Tort rieidte, Pyralidw, Geomet ridw, Noel nithe. Bombyeithe, Zygtenidte, and Sphingidie are most important. Other families of both sorts belong only to South America or the old World.