Butterflies & moths, closer up.
Wings covered in scales, feet that taste, a butterfly that hisses and a moth that hovers like a hummingbird. Every fact traced to a source and dated where it can change, plus games, printables, a page on the butterflies of the Isle of Man and an eraser called Useless who is trying very hard to keep up.
The short version
Butterflies, moths and skippers make up the insect order Lepidoptera, with about 180,000 species. Only beetles form a bigger order. Britannica: Lepidoptera · checked 30 Oct 2026 With around 180,000 described species, butterflies and moths outnumber all known mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians put together by more than two and a half times. Britannica: Lepidoptera (natural history, behaviour and ecology) · checked 30 Oct 2026
Lepidoptera comes from Greek and means ‘scaly wings’. Natural History Museum, London: UK moths, nine of the most colourful and distinctive
Butterflies and moths live on every continent except Antarctica. Britannica: Lepidoptera The smallest moths have wingspans of about 4 mm. The biggest moths and butterflies measure nearly 30 cm. Britannica: Lepidoptera
And the line between them is fuzzier than you’d think. There is no real scientific difference between butterflies and moths; we split them out of habit. Oxford University Museum of Natural History: Lepidoptera There’s a whole page on butterfly or moth?
- Butterflies, moths and skippers make up the insect order Lepidoptera, with about 180,000 species. Only beetles form a bigger order. Britannica: Lepidoptera · checked 30 Oct 2026
- The Oxford University Museum of Natural History puts the world total at 165,000 species, with 2,495 in the UK. Oxford University Museum of Natural History: Lepidoptera · checked 30 Oct 2026
Two trusted museums and reference works give different world totals. New species are still being found and named, so treat both as round figures. Every disagreement we found →
Start somewhere
Butterfly or moth?Wing hooks, antennae, day-flying moths and night-flying butterflies.
Scales & sensesTasting feet, ultraviolet eyes and moths that hear bats.
Egg to wingFour stages, four or five moults and one big rebuild.
Tricks & defencesEyespots, hissing, warning colours and twig disguises.
Long journeysMonarchs to Mexico and Painted Ladies to the Arctic.
Isle of ManNineteen butterflies, a bilingual guide and a moth mistaken for a bird.
Tile photos are credited on their pages and on the credits page.
The butterfly that hisses
When disturbed, a Peacock butterfly flicks its wings open to show four big eyespots and makes a hissing sound by rubbing its wing veins together. Vallin et al. 2005, Proceedings of the Royal Society B (peer-reviewed) In an experiment with blue tits, only 1 of 34 Peacocks with eyespots was killed, compared with 13 of 20 whose eyespots were painted over. Vallin et al. 2005, Proceedings of the Royal Society B (peer-reviewed)
And the moth that was taken for a bird
The Hummingbird Hawk-moth flies by day and hovers in front of flowers to sip nectar like a hummingbird. It now breeds in the UK and is considered a resident. Natural History Museum, London: UK moths, nine of the most colourful and distinctive · checked 30 Oct 2026 Hummingbird Hawk-moths are reported to Manx Wildlife Trust every year by people who think they have seen the little American bird. Manx Wildlife Trust: identification guide to Manx butterflies Read more about butterflies and moths on the Isle of Man.
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Butterfly & moth printables
Fact-checked PDFs in A4 and US Letter.
Butterfly & Moth Species Fact Cards
Twenty-eight fact cards, from the Peacock and the Monarch to the atlas moth and the Hummingbird Hawk-moth, with a Butterfly or Moth? sorting game and a spotting tracker
Butterfly & Moth Life Cycle Pack
Egg, caterpillar, pupa and adult: sequencing cards, a life cycle wheel, label-the-butterfly and a growth diary, with answer keys
Butterfly & Moth Spotter’s Pack
Garden and walk record sheets, a 20-butterfly spotting checklist, a moth night log, a seasons chart and a field notebook cover
Butterfly & Moth Activity & Colouring Pack
Colouring pages, symmetry drawing, a maze, word search and spot-the-difference puzzles for ages 4 to 9
Butterfly & Moth Facts Poster Set
Six fact-checked posters, from scaly wings and tasting feet to the Monarch’s journey and Darwin’s moth
Butterfly & Moth Quiz & Word Puzzles Pack
A crossword, code breaker, fill-the-gap facts, true or false, myth busters and a 20-question quiz, with answer keys
Best valueThe Complete Butterfly & Moth Printables Bundle
All six packs plus a guide, A4 and US Letter, in one download.