When at rest, the wings of a butterfly are usually erect whereas that of a moth's are sloped downward -- like the sides of a tent.
A butterfly has a hollow thread-like tongue through which fluids may be pumped up and which, when not in use, is coiled up like a watch spring.
There are thirteen segments to a caterpillar, not including the distinct horny head.
A caterpillar of a butterfly forms into a chrysalis in which a good part of its body is covered, but not wholly like the cocoon of a moth.
The life of caterpillars vary greatly. From birth to chrysalis, the duration may be as short as ten days (at least a month ordinarily). There are those that hibernate nearly a year, and in some cases even two winters, meaning that their larval existence alone may span eighteen to twenty months.
Among butterfly families, only the Skipper forms a cocoon.
The antennae of the butterfly is probably the organ responsible for its keen sense of smell; their sense of taste is in evidence when they imbibe fluids well past their capacity of satiating hunger to the point they have trouble flying.
Hidden scales in certain species of male butterflies lead to a gland that serve as scent-organs which give off perfumes as that of flowers, sandal-wood, and musk.
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