What are the differences between moths and butterflies?
The species are traditionally divided into three groupings, the micro-moths; the larger or macro-moths and the butterflies. The micro-moths contains the majority of the species. Most are small and inconspicuous insects whose study and identification is a specialist field. This site deals only with the macro-moths and butterflies. Whilst most people could instantly tell a butterfly from a moth there is in fact no single feature which distinguishes the two groups. In Britain and Ireland all butterfly species have club-shaped antennae whereas none of the moths have clubbed antennae, although a variety of antennal structures are exhibited. All butterflies lack a frenulum, which is a hook-like structure that holds the fore and hind wings together. This is present in most, but not all, macro-moths. All butterflies are day-flying but there are also many species of day-flying moths, so even this distinction in not totally reliable. N. Ireland fauna The number of moth species in Northern Irelan