- Moths have antenna which look like real ears that mean something. Butterflies have piddly little antenna which probably don't do anything really.
- Colours are something that are traditionally accepted as being dominated by butterflies but I feel that this is completely misguided. Butterflies are borderline tacky with their choice of combinations and off-bright primaries. Who wants to see orange and black? Unless you support Hull City (and no one does) then there is no place for this butterfly in your eyes. Moths have this understated yet glorious and dramatic quality that sets them apart, commanding notice without demanding it.
- We all know about caterpillars and their remarkable transformation. This is something that is shared by both butterflies and moths and is incredibly impressive by itself. But butterflies do this in some strange leafy plastic contraption that might as well be a Tesco value picnic cup with a piece of paper over the top. That is how cheap it seems. Moths make silk, they sit in its soft, expensive cocoon until they become the glorious specimens we see traversing the night sky.
- Moths are really hairy, and for a race of beings (us) that generally don't like insects and their horrible spindly bodies that is nothing but a good thing. A butterflies body and face is like a angle-y exo-skeletal mess whilst moths are like little mammals with oversized wings.
- Butterflies come out in the day time whilst moths brave the barely moonlight evenings. In short, butterflies are feeble, nervous pussies.
This problem is that, were I to wake up one day to find that I was one of these creatures, I would rather be a butterfly. The reasons are by no means countless, but the two that stand out are very key. The first is the nocturnal thing. If I am granted this priceless opportunity to be able to soar above the landscape and view things from a perspective never before afforded to a human then I would like to be able to do this in the day time, where the rolling green hills, forests and whatever else is out there would be much better to view from above and explore with my tiny body in the day. My second reason is that although I am sure there are plenty of night time extravagances to be seen from up high, that will be interrupted by a moth's inclination to follow the moon, leading them to bump into lights constantly. I don't know why there is a combination of my mind and the insect's inside this strange creation but that is the way my fantasy is playing out upstairs (in my imagination). All in all, I wouldn't really mind being either, simply for the fact that hiding under leaves in the rain would be like hiding in a tent in the rain but so much better because of the realisation that you could get killed by that rain. Imagine that feeling... its nice.
Here is another impressive specimen to demonstrated moth brilliance.

I agree with you completely, moths are by far better than butterflies. They are the scruffy dogs of the insect world and are just so wonderful. Another point you can add is that (I find anyway) moths are friendlier than butterflies, and they are more likely to land on you and stick around for a spell before flying off, whereas a butterfly rarely would ever consider such a thing.
ReplyDeleteMoth lovers unite! :O
~Miyth