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Dancing butterflies in colorful clothing. In our impression， butterflies might be the most beautiful fairies， with light figures and diverse gestures， making them veritable “Beauty Queen”. In contrast， thinking of moths， there must be ugly and boring appearance in our mind.
In fact， it is totally a different story. Moths are changeable “airplanes” in the insect world， able to be either dumb or fairy， colorful or low keyed. They not only have colorful wings， but can also impress you with various shapes. Let’s go and find out their “72 Changes”.
Moths consist the largest group in the lepidoptera family， they are very close to humans. Because they like flying in the light， they are also called "flying moths." Although they are close relatives of butterflies， in most people's eyes， moths are quite old fashioned and easy to ignore. Actually it’s not true. In the nature， especially forest away from the city， the diversity of moths is 100-1000 times of butterflies. In the rainforest， the beauty of some moths even wins that of butterflies， such as satumiid with the nickname of “Angel moth”. Are you impressed？
Diversity and Basic Forms of Moths
No matter in coastal town of low altitude or glaciers in high altitude， people can find different types of moths. Moths have highly diverse habitats， the world's known is around 15 million， and only in China， there are 7，000 known species.
Moth adults can be either small or large. The adult body is generally thin and fragile with head developed and compound eyes--- inflated and spherical； thin antennae and diverse forms， mostly of the wire-like or comb； mouthparts are "siphon" shaped， seeming like a slender straw， which when not in use， will roll up hidden at the bottom of the head. The adult moth has two pairs of sheet-like wings on its breasts， with scales on both its body and wings. These scales have different colors， especially on some scales there are eye-like patterns， having a chilling effect on predators like birds and lizards. Adult moth has slender feet， making them not strong enough in climbing. They often act in the dark to ensure safety and only a few act during the day， sucking nectar among flowers， making contributions to the pollination of plants.
Moth larvae shares little similarity with adult ones in appearance， which is the complete metamorphosis phenomenon. And they are commonly known as “Caterpillar”， which will make many readers feel sick thinking of this fleshy worm. The worm has three pairs of tiny feet on its chest， 5 pairs of hooked feet on its abdomen， enabling it strong climbing ability， even on a vertical smooth glass surface. Since spiny caterpillar or tufts on its surface and some moths （e.g. slug， tussock moth， etc.） larvae can cause human skin allergy， people tend to feel uncomfortable with them. Most moth larvae are herbivorous， living on trees the life of "hungry， eat， eat and sleep". When approaching pupation， the body will become increasingly bloated， which is nearly a hundred times comparing to being newly hatched. And the moment pupation， they will make "Striptease"， fleshy body constantly twisting， until caterpillar-shaped housing abandoned， revealing a hard fusiform shell--- "pupa". Some moths’ pupae will be wrapped in the silk cocoon， a week or so it will break out and grow into adults after eclosion.
Phototaxis of Moths and Light Trap
Although insects are everywhere on land， small as they are， they are quite professional in hiding. Specific insects tend to appear in specific environment. For example， butterflies like to suck nectar in the flowers while dragonflies prefer to chase and play beside waters. If we wait quietly in such an environment during the day， it’s not hard to find them. But it’s not the same story in terms of some night insects， especially moths. However， as long as we prepare a flashlight or a bright light， we will be able to find a night elf world.
Many insects such as beetles， moths， lacewings and so on， are very sensitive to light in the dark， and will fly towards the light ignoring dangers， which is the so-called "phototaxis". The old saying "moths to flame” is telling this truth. According to this habit， we can design a lamp trap device to attract these guests.
Summer Night， “Fashion Show” of the Moths
Late in a summer night， if you walk beside the bushes beside the pond or stream， there will often be surprises.
Humid land near the water is like a busy market！ Carabidae walking back and forth； earwig looking around； stinkbug with a robust body leisurely combing its tentacles， like relaxed elders in the teahouse； a few flies neatly standing on the leaves of low herbaceous， like travelers waiting in line to register， as well as a small weevil， quickly climbing onto the tree from the ground， walking along the small branches， seeming finishing buying gift in the marker and ready to go to a friend's house party.
After night patrols， let’s return to the light trap. Here it is more like a huge insect event. We can see the white cloth covered with a variety of colorful moths in different form. There are sphinx large as the palm and tiny glass moth. The colorful markings on the back of the chest of acherontia lachesis consist grim "monkey face"， while light moth looks like wearing the costumes， noble and elegant. Different moths together present us a “Fashion Show”. Of course， their forms are also numerous. From time to time there are some moths rushing to the bright white cloth like fighter aircrafts. On the bushes beside the light， there is a dead leaf， being touched， suddenly fly toward the light. And here it turns out to be a lappet moth.
Sometimes， beside your feet there will be beetles like cockchafers， lucanids， longicorns， etc.， making the whole venue crowded. This scene will be sustainable until three or four o'clock in the morning.
At dawn， you can then go to the bushes under the lamp. Tired after night， these moths are quietly lying on the leaves or branches！ It’s a precious chance to shoot a variety of "ID Photos" and "artistic licenses." This is an unusual feast， paradise of we insect lovers！
After appreciating so many moths， do you have a lot of wonder and doubt on their diversity？ These diverse shapes and rich colors， in the final analysis is due to the complex and affected by natural selection of genes. To adapt to different environments， moths derived such an extraordinary diversity and integrated into this breathtaking nature， decorating our beautiful planet.
In fact， it is totally a different story. Moths are changeable “airplanes” in the insect world， able to be either dumb or fairy， colorful or low keyed. They not only have colorful wings， but can also impress you with various shapes. Let’s go and find out their “72 Changes”.
Moths consist the largest group in the lepidoptera family， they are very close to humans. Because they like flying in the light， they are also called "flying moths." Although they are close relatives of butterflies， in most people's eyes， moths are quite old fashioned and easy to ignore. Actually it’s not true. In the nature， especially forest away from the city， the diversity of moths is 100-1000 times of butterflies. In the rainforest， the beauty of some moths even wins that of butterflies， such as satumiid with the nickname of “Angel moth”. Are you impressed？
Diversity and Basic Forms of Moths
No matter in coastal town of low altitude or glaciers in high altitude， people can find different types of moths. Moths have highly diverse habitats， the world's known is around 15 million， and only in China， there are 7，000 known species.
Moth adults can be either small or large. The adult body is generally thin and fragile with head developed and compound eyes--- inflated and spherical； thin antennae and diverse forms， mostly of the wire-like or comb； mouthparts are "siphon" shaped， seeming like a slender straw， which when not in use， will roll up hidden at the bottom of the head. The adult moth has two pairs of sheet-like wings on its breasts， with scales on both its body and wings. These scales have different colors， especially on some scales there are eye-like patterns， having a chilling effect on predators like birds and lizards. Adult moth has slender feet， making them not strong enough in climbing. They often act in the dark to ensure safety and only a few act during the day， sucking nectar among flowers， making contributions to the pollination of plants.
Moth larvae shares little similarity with adult ones in appearance， which is the complete metamorphosis phenomenon. And they are commonly known as “Caterpillar”， which will make many readers feel sick thinking of this fleshy worm. The worm has three pairs of tiny feet on its chest， 5 pairs of hooked feet on its abdomen， enabling it strong climbing ability， even on a vertical smooth glass surface. Since spiny caterpillar or tufts on its surface and some moths （e.g. slug， tussock moth， etc.） larvae can cause human skin allergy， people tend to feel uncomfortable with them. Most moth larvae are herbivorous， living on trees the life of "hungry， eat， eat and sleep". When approaching pupation， the body will become increasingly bloated， which is nearly a hundred times comparing to being newly hatched. And the moment pupation， they will make "Striptease"， fleshy body constantly twisting， until caterpillar-shaped housing abandoned， revealing a hard fusiform shell--- "pupa". Some moths’ pupae will be wrapped in the silk cocoon， a week or so it will break out and grow into adults after eclosion.
Phototaxis of Moths and Light Trap
Although insects are everywhere on land， small as they are， they are quite professional in hiding. Specific insects tend to appear in specific environment. For example， butterflies like to suck nectar in the flowers while dragonflies prefer to chase and play beside waters. If we wait quietly in such an environment during the day， it’s not hard to find them. But it’s not the same story in terms of some night insects， especially moths. However， as long as we prepare a flashlight or a bright light， we will be able to find a night elf world.
Many insects such as beetles， moths， lacewings and so on， are very sensitive to light in the dark， and will fly towards the light ignoring dangers， which is the so-called "phototaxis". The old saying "moths to flame” is telling this truth. According to this habit， we can design a lamp trap device to attract these guests.
Summer Night， “Fashion Show” of the Moths
Late in a summer night， if you walk beside the bushes beside the pond or stream， there will often be surprises.
Humid land near the water is like a busy market！ Carabidae walking back and forth； earwig looking around； stinkbug with a robust body leisurely combing its tentacles， like relaxed elders in the teahouse； a few flies neatly standing on the leaves of low herbaceous， like travelers waiting in line to register， as well as a small weevil， quickly climbing onto the tree from the ground， walking along the small branches， seeming finishing buying gift in the marker and ready to go to a friend's house party.
After night patrols， let’s return to the light trap. Here it is more like a huge insect event. We can see the white cloth covered with a variety of colorful moths in different form. There are sphinx large as the palm and tiny glass moth. The colorful markings on the back of the chest of acherontia lachesis consist grim "monkey face"， while light moth looks like wearing the costumes， noble and elegant. Different moths together present us a “Fashion Show”. Of course， their forms are also numerous. From time to time there are some moths rushing to the bright white cloth like fighter aircrafts. On the bushes beside the light， there is a dead leaf， being touched， suddenly fly toward the light. And here it turns out to be a lappet moth.
Sometimes， beside your feet there will be beetles like cockchafers， lucanids， longicorns， etc.， making the whole venue crowded. This scene will be sustainable until three or four o'clock in the morning.
At dawn， you can then go to the bushes under the lamp. Tired after night， these moths are quietly lying on the leaves or branches！ It’s a precious chance to shoot a variety of "ID Photos" and "artistic licenses." This is an unusual feast， paradise of we insect lovers！
After appreciating so many moths， do you have a lot of wonder and doubt on their diversity？ These diverse shapes and rich colors， in the final analysis is due to the complex and affected by natural selection of genes. To adapt to different environments， moths derived such an extraordinary diversity and integrated into this breathtaking nature， decorating our beautiful planet.