Butterflies and moths are insects whose bodies are divided into three sections: the head, the thorax and the abdomen. On their heads they have two eyes, two antennae – which are used to ‘smell’ the plants they visit – and a proboscis. This latter organ is used to drink nectar from flowers and suck sweet juices from rotten fruit. They also need water. The butterfly’s six legs and four large wings are attached to the thorax. The spiracles – small orifices used for breathing – are located on the abdomen.
Butterflies and moths undergo complete metamorphosis and pass through four very different stages: egg, larva, pupa or chrysalis, and adult butterfly or imago. Each phase of the butterfly has to face up to the attacks of a number of different enemies: birds, beetles, frogs, spiders, locusts, wasps, and so forth. Some have developed self-defence mechanisms and others have very obvious sexual dimorphism. Some larvae are monophagous, others are polyphagous; some have evolved symbiotic relationships with other insects, while there are even a few that are cannibals.
Butterflies are day-flying members of the order Lepidoptera. They are generally brightly and attractively coloured. They can be distinguished from other Lepidoptera by their antennae, which have club-shaped ends, and by the fact that they hold their wings together in a vertical position when at rest. Depending on the species and the climatic conditions, species may have one, two or more annual generations. Some species even migrate in large numbers, while others hibernate as adults.
In the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands there are around 230 different species of butterfly (Garcia-Barros et al., 2004).
The butterflies found in Catalonia belong to the following families: Hesperiidae, Papilionidae, Pieridae, Danaidae, Libytheidae, Nemeobiidae, Nymphalidae, Satyridae and Lycaenidae.
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Moths generally fly by night (although some fly by day or at dusk) and their colouration is usually somewhat less eye-catching. They are characterized by antennae of many different shapes and by the fact that, when at rest, they hold their wings open. They are often found at night flying around street lamps since they are strongly attracted by white light on, above all, windless and moonless evenings. The main enemy of many moths are bats. The females of some moth families generate pheromones that attract the males. In general, moth larvae have a wider range of food sources than butterflies: some eat leaves, but others feed on skins and some will even perforate tree trunks or bore into soft fruit.
It is thought that there are about 1,580 different species of moth in the Iberian Peninsula, which belong to the following families: Hepialidae, Cossidae, Limacodidae, Thyrididae, Lasiocampidae, Endromidae, Saturnidae, Lemoniidae, Sphingidae, Axiidae, Drepanidae, Geometridae, Notodontidae, Lymantriidae, Arctiidae, Castniidae, Noctuidae i Nolidae.
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