Moths Come to Light
Photographs and Text by Darlyne A. Murawski
With more than 142,000 recognized species (and thousands more undiscovered, scientists suspect), moths far out number butterflies. Inhabiting nearly ever corner of the planet, they come in a welter of forms, some as dainty as snowflakes, other as big as bats. One species native to Central and South America unfurls a foot-long proboscis specially suited for sipping nectar from deep-throated flowers. Another specialist, from Southeast Asia, uses a skin-piercing, knife-sharp proboscis to drink its fill of blood. Still others lack functional mouthparts, living only on energy stored during their larval stage. Breeding is the sole aim of their brief adult lives and, once accomplished, they die.
Learn more about the fascinating variety of shapes, sizes and lifestyles of the poorer cousin of the butterfly.
NGM 1997/03