Subject: caterpillars-moths vs. butterflies

From: "Michael P. Hoff" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 14 May 1996 09:55:04 -0600

My 9-year-old budding scientist has assigned herself a topic to
investigate.  She would like to know if there is an absolute way to
determine by visual inspection whether a caterpillar is a moth or a
butterfly.  In other words, when she finds a caterpillar in the garden, can
she determine which group it is in (let me expand her question to include
general rules rather than an absolute rule).  She has investigated the half
a dozen books in our college library and the several books in the public
library and cannot come up with an answer.  I volunteered to get on the
lepidoptera list serve (it's hard to pull myself away from my primate list
serve!) to ask the experts.  We thank you in advance for any help you can
give.

Michael Hoff

Michael P. Hoff, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
Dalton College
213 N. College Dr.
Dalton, GA  30720

[email-masked]

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From: [email-masked] (DoryO)
Date: 17 May 1996 07:20:21 -0400

You might ask:  What makes an insect a moth -- and not a butterfly?  
Would these moth-specific characteristics be evident at a larval stage?

The shape of the antennae is the usual difference cited, but larvae have
none to show you.  And there are exceptions to the "antennae rule".  It
would be easier to choose specific families of leps that can be IDed with
confidence by the form of the caterpillars:  Geometers (the "inch worms"
or loopers) for instance.

In "The Moth Book", 1903, W.J. Holland says:
"There is scarcely any generalization in reference to organic structures
which students have made which has not been found with the increase of
knowledge to have its limitations..."

Students hate this, of course.  It makes the exams tougher.

Dory Owen
Madison, Wisconsin