Moths
Moths form a large insect group that covers most of the 135 families of the scaly winged insects (order of Lepidoptera), with some 160,000 described species. Moths are among the most successful of the Earth’s inhabitants, with an ancient history, some fossils being dated to 190 million years old.[1,2] Most species of moth are nocturnal, although there are also crepuscular and diurnal species.[3] Moths are distinct from butterflies which evolved from moths, so while the butterflies are monophyletic (forming a single clade), the moths are not [4].
Moth larvae, or caterpillars, make cocoons from which they emerge as fully grown moths with wings. Some moth caterpillars dig holes in the ground, where they live until they are ready to turn into adult moths.[5] Some moths, particularly their caterpillars, can be major agricultural pests in many parts of the world. Examples include corn borers and bollworms.[4]
Other moths are farmed for their economic value. The most notable of these is the silkworm, the larva of the domesticated moth Bombyx mori. It is farmed for the silk with which it builds its cocoon. As of 2002, the silk industry produces more than 130 million kilograms of raw silk, worth about 250 million U.S. dollars, each year.[4]
- Lees, D. and Zilli, A., 2019. Moths: Their biology, diversity and evolution. Natural History Museum, London.
- Kawahara, A.Y., Plotkin, D., Espeland, M., Meusemann, K., Toussaint, E.F., Donath, A., Gimnich, F., Frandsen, P.B., Zwick, A., Dos Reis, M. and Barber, J.R., 2019. Phylogenomics reveals the evolutionary timing and pattern of butterflies and moths. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(45), pp.22657-22663.
- Wikipedia: Moths
- Wikipedia: Butterflies
- Darby, Gene (1958). What is a Butterfly. Chicago: Benefic Press. p. 41.