Butterfly or Moth?
David H. Davis , MS, CWB?
![David H. Davis , MS, CWB?]()
David H. Davis , MS, CWB?
Wildlife Biologist at United States Department of Defense
A friend in Reno sent me this photo of a moth known as a Western Sheepmoth (Hemileuca eglanterina) which is a day-flying moth that can be mistaken for a butterfly on the wing. It's easy to misidentify these day-time moths because they are flying during the day-time like butterflies. One of the easiest ways to tell the difference between a butterfly and a moth is to look at the antennae. A moth's antennae are feathery or saw-edged. Butterflies have two segmented antennae with a small club at the end of each; moth antennae do not have a club.
I would guess a moth by the way it looks, but I read the other day that the difference in butterflies and moths is butterflies come out in the day and moths come out at night.? Is that true?? If so, this is probably a butterfly.