Moths
What is a moth?
Moths are closely related to butterflies, but are much more numerous, particularly the little tiny ones - the so-called Microlepidoptera. Though most
people will tell you that butterflies fly by day and moths fly by night, this is not strictly true and there are a fair number of moths that fly by day.
In fact, it seems that moths evolved as night-flying creatures, with day-flying species evolving from them at a later date on more than one occasion. One of these day-
flying groups is represented by modern-day butterflies, all of which cluster together as being more closely-related to each other than to the moths.
Getting started
Moths are numerous,very numerous and getting started when trying to identify an individual moth can be pretty daunting. This site doesn't pretend to
identify every moth that may be found in Cape May - for one thing, much work still remains to be done on this group throughout the whole of North America and
the identification criteria for some species haven't even been worked out yet. Secondly, many species are very small and identification may require killing
and dissection. As this site is intended for hobbyists and curious amateurs, it is not felt that killing individuals serves any great purpose. Thus, such groups
will not be covered here. This still leaves us with plenty of moths to get stuck into, however!
Step one - identifying the group or family
Use the thumbnail pictures below to get you to the group or family that your moth appears to be a member of. From there, you should hopefully be able to
continue to identification at the species level. At this stage, try to match the basic shape and overall appareance of the moth with the pictures below and
don't worry so much about precise markings. Closely-related species tend to show the same general appearance so look at the shape of the wing, whether the
wings are folded flat over the back, held out at right angles to the body, or folded tent-like, in an inverted 'V'. Some moths even hold their wings slightly
raised in a V, like a miniature Turkey Vulture!
Click on the pictures below to go to the group that you are interested in.
(For a list of all moth species on the site, click here)
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Grass-tubeworms
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Tineids
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Bagworms
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Gracillariids
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Oecophorids
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Oecophorids
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Gelechiids
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yponomeutids
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Carpenterworms
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Tented Tortrids
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Flat-backed Tortrids
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Leaf Skeletonizers
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Flannels
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Button Slugs
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Crambids
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Crambids
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Crambids
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Crambids
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Crambids
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Crambids
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Crambids
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Pyralids
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Pyralids
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Thyrids
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Cankerworms
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Angles
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Grays
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Thorns
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Leaf-mimics
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Emeralds
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Waves
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Geometers
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Carpets
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Apatelodes
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Lappets
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Saturniids
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Clearwings
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Sphinx moths
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Prominents
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Lichen Moths
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Arctiids
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Ermines
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Tigers
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Scape Moths
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Tussocks
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Litter Moths
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Tetanolitas & Renias
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Palthis
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Snouts
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Phytometrines
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Fungus Moths
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Necklaces
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Lesser Underwings
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Wavy-lined Owlets
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Grass Loopers
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Grass Loopers
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Grass Loopers
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Underwings
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Elves
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Baileyas
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Nolas
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Plusias & Loopers
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Bagisarines & Eustrotiines
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Maliatthas
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Spragueias
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Bird-dropping Moths
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Brothers
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Daggers
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Wood-nymphs
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Copper Underwings
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Phosphilas
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Sun Moths
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Flower Moths
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Groundlings
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Ferns
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Marvels
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Midgets
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The Wedgeling
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Armyworms
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St. John's-worts
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Yellow Three-spot
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Sallows
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American Dun-bar
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Quakers
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Bronzed Cutworms
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White-speck
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Wainscots
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Arches
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Darts
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Darts
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