Moths are a part of a family of insects (along with butterflies) called ‘lepidoptera’ meaning scaled wings. This derives from the Greek words lepis (meaning scale) and pteron (meaning wing). Generally most moths are active by night and the colour of their wings is often shades of brown, black and grey to help in night-time camouflage.

Not all moths, however, are dull in colour. Some species such as the Large Emerald Moth are considered to be as colourful and beautiful as a butterfly. As with butterflies, the moth’s colouration is created by thousands of dust-like scales on their wings.

Moths are a successful species with over 2,000 individual species in England alone. Moths generally have thicker, heavier and hairier bodies than butterflies and their antennae can be slender, pointed or feathery.

The subject of moths can be overwhelming and we have only written about 4 individual species of moths for our readers with some preliminary interest.