Moth Classifications

Science has identified at least 200,000 species of moth. Closely related to butterflies, moths have a few features and habits that distinguish them. Moths tend to be dull in color and have hairy bodies and feathered antennae. Also, most moths are nocturnal and most often rest with wings wide open, as opposed to closed like butterflies. Like all living things on the planet, moths are members of several scientific classifications.

  1. Kingdom

    • All life on Earth is separated into six kingdoms: plants, animals, fungi, protists, eubacteria and archaebacteria. Moths belong to the animal kingdom, meaning that they are multi-cellular lifeforms. It also means that they are similar to millions of other lifeforms in the animal kingdom in that they rely on other forms of life for nutrition. In the case of moths, this nutrition comes from plants.

    Phylum

    • The animal kingdom is broken up into numerous groups known as phyla, which include groups such as chordates, nematodes and mollusks. Moths belong to the Arthropoda phylum along with scorpions, crustaceans and other insects. This phylum lists more known species than the rest of the animal kingdom's other phyla combined. Most of the members of this phylum share common traits including bilateral symmetry, segmented bodies and an exoskeleton made out of chitin. Commonly known as arthropods, these animals also lack bones that are found in some other phyla such as Chordata.

    Class

    • Phyla are broken down further into classes, which separate species out into groups with more common traits. The moth is a member of the Insecta class, more commonly known as insects. This class consists of millions of species, which can be found throughout the planet, from the driest deserts to the harshest arctic regions. The animals in this class tend to be small in size. Other common traits in most of the species in this class are large compound eyes and some form of antennae located on the head.

    Order

    • Scientific classes are further broken down into orders, which group the various insect types. Orders include flies, cockroaches and fleas, to name a few. Moths belong to the order Lepidoptera, along with all species of butterflies. The members of this order have large wings in relation to their bodies, which are covered in tiny scales. The life cycle in all members of this order is the same, running through four stages: egg, caterpillar, pupa and finally, winged adult. All the various families and genera of moths are found in this order, including ghost moths, lappet moths and tussock moths.