Baby Signs® by Bryn

One of the things I wanted to do this summer was to go to Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory up in Deerfield, MA. We finally did it the weekend before Labor day. It was great! The kids had a blast chasing the butterflies and looking at the various other animals they had there. I tried my best to get a good picture but those butterflies would hardly stand still. Maybe they're just camera shy or it's a running joke they pull on the tourists. Because they would land on my kids for a second and take off as I fumbled with my camera to take a picture. As a result, I've got lots of pictures of rocks or flowers to show people and say "Hey! A butterfly perched on that for a second."

So what's the difference between a butterfly and a moth? In general, moths are nocturnal and butterflies can be seen in the day time. Also, when butterflies are perched they tend to rest with their wings "closed" while moths will leave their wings spread out to their sides. Of course there are some species of moths and butterflies that make exceptions to these rules but, hey, nobody's perfect ;)