What is Moth?
{{Taxobox | name = Moths | image = Opodiphthera eucalypti male.jpg | image_width = 230px | image_caption = Emperor Gum Moth, ''[[Opodiphthera eucalypti]]'' | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Arthropod]]a | classis = [[Insect]]a | ordo = [[Lepidoptera]] }} [[File:Zygaena – Hiiumaa.jpg|thumb|right|230px|A Burnet Moth (''Zygaena'' sp.), a daytime flyer. This one is getting nectar from a [[thistle]] (and [[pollination|pollinating]] it) in [[Estonia]].]] [[File:Joined moths.JPG|thumb|right|230px|Mating pair of ''[[Laothoe populi]]'', or Poplar Hawk-moths. showing two different [[Polymorphism|colour variants]]]] [[File:Lymantria dispar MHNT Chenille.jpg|thumb|right|230px|Caterpillars of the [[spongy moth]] (''Lymantria dispar dispar'') are colourful [[pests]] which feed on the leaves of many trees.]] '''Moths''' are [[insect]]s of the [[Order (biology)|order]] [[Lepidoptera]]. They are closely related to [[butterflies]], which evolved from them. They also have wings, just like butterflies. Most [[species]] of moths are active only at night. They can be told apart from butterflies in several ways. Moth antenna look like little feathers, and their wings are held flat on their backs when they are not flying. Most Lepidoptera are moths. There are thought to be about 160,000 species of moths (nearly ten times the number of species of butterflies).<ref>{{cite web | title=Moths | work=Smithsonian Institution | url=http://www.si.edu/Encyclopedia_SI/nmnh/buginfo/moths.htm | accessdate=2012-01-12 }}</ref> Thousands of species are still to be described. Most moths are tiny: they are called micromoths or microlepidoptera. The large moths are much better known, but fewer. Most species of moths are [[nocturnal]], but not all. There are [[crepuscular]] and [[Diurnal animal|diurnal]] species. == Moths as pests == Moths, usually their [[caterpillar]]s, are a major farm pest in many parts of the world. Caterpillars eat the plants that farmers grow and sometimes kill them. The caterpillar of the spongy moth (''Lymantria dispar'')