I was going through some old photos and remembered that I never posted the photo of the Luna moth that was resting on the side of a tree in my yard.
Look at that fuzzy cottonball body.
What is the difference between a moth and a butterfly? I guess when it comes to taxonomy it isn't perfect. They apparently didn't get the memo from Carl Linnaeus. So I'll give you a few pointers on moth vs butterfly.
J. Geils might have preached "first I look at the purse" but when deciding on the moth vs butterfly thing....check out the antennae. Butterflies generally have slender feelers with a club end but there are some moths that have a club end. Moths generally have comb like or feathery antennae. There again, if they had read the memo, there would be hard and fast rules for distinguishing the two.
Moths also form cocoons and butterflies form chrysalis. Whether a butterfly or moth, they are both quite interesting and very beautiful to behold. I guess all those biology classes did come in handy.
Our yard has been butterfly central as of late. I hauled out the butterfly book and verified that we have both Black and Yellow Swallowtail butterflies. The black variety is black with some yellow and the yellow variety has more yellow and is outlined in black. The black variety seem to be larger.
We also have some Monarchs and Viceroys and try not to cut down any milkweed because their survival is dependent upon it. I keep saying I am going to buy some milkweed seed and then never do.
In the past I have donated to Monarch Watch. Their website is very informative and they offer seeds etc for sale.
This year the yard has also yielded blue birds and numerous hummingbirds. I also understand that there has been sightings of orchard orioles this year. I think as we add more flowers and feeders we will increasingly see more and more. I know that it really helps that the neighbor also has a full yard of flowers.
Judy...I promise to add flower photos soon.
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