Hello and welcome to all of our new listeners. I'm Mimi Fotz, and this is Hello from the Van. I recently went on a field trip with my kids to the local children's museum. There they have this butterfly exhibit that you walk through. As someone who lived through the great monarch migration of the 90s, I had a lot of questions. I also realized that butterflies and moths are a blind spot in my knowledge. I don't know a lot about them. And before I knew it, this very curious group of children had a lot of questions. And this was one of those times as an adult that you are truly humbled by how little you know on a subject, exacerbated by the fact that my cell phone was at about 2% battery, and I just couldn't Google things. So yeah, there was a lot I didn't know. And I just thought to myself, how am I well into my midlife years and unaware of the many differences between moths and butterflies? And that leads us to where we are today. We're talking about moths and butterflies and cocoons and chrysalises because this is a subject I don't know a lot about. So I'm gonna learn and I'm taking you along with me. I genuinely thought that moths and butterflies were just the same bug. I thought it was a lot like pumas, mountain lions, panthers, and cougars. They're all the same thing. I thought it was like that. Nope, nope, I stand corrected. Um, yeah, yeah, it's not. Butterflies and moths are similar in a lot of ways. This is because they're a part of the same order of winged insects called Lepidoptera. I know it sounds like a dinosaur. Same. They're kind of like the day and night version of this order. Most of their differences can be chalked up to are they functioning in darkness or are they functioning in light? For example, most butterflies fly during the day, they're bright, and they don't really need smell because they focus on sight. Most moths fly at night, which means they have to be disguised during the day, so they're not as colorful, they're not as bright, and they have larger antenna because they need to be able to smell to find their mate, because they're functioning at night in the darkness. One very interesting fact that I discovered in my research is that moths have a thicker coating of scales than butterflies. This is what gives them their heavier, furry appearance. Why? Because moths are flying at night and don't have the sun to warm their bodies, like butterflies do. So instead, moths generate heat internally by vibrating their muscles, and their heavy scales then insulate them against heat loss. It's like a butterfly wearing a parka. Both butterflies and moths go through what's called a metamorphosis. This is when they change from a caterpillar to a moth or a butterfly as an adult. A metamorphosis is like puberty, but for insects and bugs. Human puberty tends to go baby, child, teenager, adult. To talk about it loosely, that's our metamorphosis. The metamorphosis for a butterfly and moth is similar. Like humans, they have four distinct life stages egg, larva, sometimes called a caterpillar, pupa, and then adult. However, butterflies create chrysalises in their pupa or teenage stage, while moths create a cocoon. To put this into perspective, they spend their teenage days in their rooms and they don't come out until they are matured adults. Something I'm sure some of us humans can relate to. So what is the difference between the two? A chrysalis is for a butterfly. It's smooth, normally a bright color to blend into trees and leaves during the day. It has a hard outer casing, and it normally hangs from a surface like a twig or a leaf or a structure to make it look like a leaf or something naturally part of the foliage. Cocoons are for moths. They're usually made of silk, they're softer, and they can be just about anywhere. They don't have to hang. They can be stuck to the underside of something or stuck to the back of a road sign or to a tree. They kind of blend in. To help me remember this, I think of a cocoon as a fruit snack and a chrysalis as a skittle. I know. It's very Michael Scott of me, but it's easy to remember because a chrysalis is bright and shiny and hard on the outside, like a skittle. And butterflies are also bright and shiny, like skittles. And then cocoons are softer and duller in color, like fruit snacks and moths. So I know it's a little ridiculous, but it makes it easier to remember, right? A chrysalis is a skittle and a uh a cocoon is a fruit snack. All organic, apparently. So that's their major differences. But let's talk about moths and butterflies by the numbers. Worldwide, there are 17,500 species of butterflies and a whopping 160,000 species of moth. Moths evolved before butterflies, so they've simply just had more time to diversify. The average lifespan of a butterfly is only seven to ten days, and that's if they're not eaten first. Speaking of eating, while I was on the field trip with my kids, one of the kids had a butterfly land on him and he just started screaming, It's going to bite me. I am here to let you know that it is physically impossible for a moth or a butterfly to bite or sting you. They don't have teeth or a stinger. They have a proboscis that can only suck or drink from flowers. There are even some moths whose life cycles are so short, they don't even have mouths. They literally have no way to bite you. So they're not gonna eat you, they're not gonna bite you, you are totally safe. There is no need to panic. And now, to round out today's podcast, some butterfly and moth jokes to share with your friends. How do you get rid of butterflies in your stomach? Stop eating caterpillars. Why did the moth fail his driving test? He kept going towards the headlights. Don't go towards the light. I can't help it. It's so beautiful. Okay, uh-huh. How can you tell when a moth passes gas? It flies straight for a second. Anyway, that's today's podcast. It's short, it's sweet, and it's moths and butterflies. I hope you had a good day and uh and a very educational week. I'm Mimi Fotz, and this has been Hello from the Van. And now to cite our sources, the bulk of our information today came from the Florida Museum of Natural History Butterflies and Bugs Exhibit, the San Diego Zoo, and finally the Brandywine Conservancy Butterflies vs. Moss article entitled Butterfly vs. Moss What Are the Differences by Melissa Rechner, published March 14th, 2023.