Butterflies and moths belong to the same family of insects, the Lepidoptera, which means “scale wing.” They are the only insects with scaly wings, but there are differences between them.
Moths appeared on Earth between 100 and 190 million years ago, butterflies 40 million years ago, during the Cretaceous period, when flowering plants—and the nectar most butterflies need to survive—evolved. Nearly every kind of butterfly flies during the day, while most moths fly at night. A moth spins a cocoon made of silk, while a butterfly wraps itself in a chrysalis or exoskeleton made from its skin.
