7. Butterflies and Moths

1

You see an insect with colorful wings resting on a flower

2

Is it a butterfly or a moth?

If you see it during the day, It is probably a butterfly

3

Most moths fly only at night

A butterfly’s body is thin and smooth

4

A moth’s body is thick and furry

Butterflies hold their wings straight up

5

Moths spread their wings out flat

But butterflies and moths are alike in two (2) ways

6

Both have wings covered with colorful scales

Both have long, rolled-up tongues

7

They use their tongues to drink nectar from flowers

As they feed, they carry pollen from one flower to another

8

This helps seeds and fruit to grow

Female moths and butterflies lay eggs on leaves or stems

9

The eggs hatch into caterpillars

10

Vocabulary:

caterpillars

The wormlike stage of a butterfly or moth

The caterpillars most important job is to eat

11

Caterpillars feed mostly on leaves

In fact, a tree may die if caterpillars eat many of its leaves

12

Caterpillars that become moths change inside a cocoon of silk

13

Vocabulary:

cocoon

The silk covering that some caterpillars make before becoming

a moth

The silkworm moth makes its cocoon from one silk thread that is

1,000 yards long

14

People use this thread to make silk cloth

Most caterpillars that become butterflies do not make a cocoon

15

Instead the skin becomes a hard case

The caterpillar becomes a pupa

16

Vocabulary:

pupa

A stage in the life of a caterpillar when the skin gets hard

Inside the pupa, wings grow

17

Soon an adult butterfly comes out

18

19

Painted Lady Butterfly Pupate