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Difference between a butterfly and a moth

The difference between butterflies and moths is subtle, but there are a few ways to distinguish between these closely-related insects of the order Lepidoptera. The reader should understand that the designations "butterfly" and "moth," while indispensable for laypersons and even for scientists who specialize in the Lepidoptera, are popular, not scientific, terms for these familiar insects. That is, "butterfly" and "moth" are not natural classifications based on differences in morphology or behavior. Of course, no rule is perfect, but as a general rule the following conditions apply.

Nevertheless, exceptions to the following rules are so few and far between that for almost all purposes the terms "butterfly" and "moth" are acceptable. Only bear in mind that there are many brightly-colored day-flying species of moths, for example, and that there is even one species of butterfly, Pseudopontia paradoxa from the forests of central Africa, whose thread-like antennae lack the distinctive clubbed ends that identify butterflies. Okay, here are the rules:

Polythemus moth - note the feathered antennae and fat furry body

A Kamehameha butterfly - not the best example in the world, but note the clubbed antennae and slender body

A Monarch butterfly demonstrating a common butterfly resting position