Butterflies: Ecologically, butterflies and moths are highly important because of the vast quantities of plants eaten by the larvae, the flower-visiting and pollinating habits of the adults, and the enormous numbers of them eaten by other animals. Butterflies Versus Moths. The great majority of the Lepidoptera are moths, but the day-flying, brightly colored butterflies are more familiar. No single factor distinguishes moths from butterflies. Most moths fly by night, while butterflies are diurnal; but there are many day-flying, flower-visiting moths. Most moths are relatively dull colored, but some are as brilliantly colored as any butterfly. Moths tend to rest with their wings flat, the fore wings hiding the hind wings; butterflies either hold their wings together vertically over their backs or spread them widely at their sides. Adult butterflies often form large aggregations while sipping water at wet places. Some of the protected and aposematic species of Helicon-ius form sleeping assemblies night after night in the same spots. The monarch (Danaus plexippus) may do the same during migrations. Migratory swarms are a feature of many butterflies and day-flying moths, especially in the tropics. Pierid butterflies are especially noted for great flocks of millions of individuals, which may fly out to sea and be lost. The painted lady (Vanessa cardui) is a famous cosmopolitan migrant. The monarch, however, is the only species that regularly makes a two-way migration, going southward in the fall and northward in the spring.

Pages about Butterflies:

- Sow bugs pill	- Adult butterflies form
- Monarch butterflies gather