Butterfly or Moth?

[Matthew McMullen]

I was sitting at my work laptop by the window and happened to see this moth/butterfly land on the bush outside the window so I figured I would see if I could get a good picture of it through the window. I think it is a bit blurry but not bad considering I took it through a double pane window.

 

[Sukerkin]

Nice shot considering the circumstances . It's a butterfly by the way ... I think :lol:

Butterflies tend to rest with their wings up and closed together but they do open and shut them at irregular intervals. Moths keep their wings open and flat and also have more feathery antennae. Moths are mostly out at night too but that is not a hard and fast rule by any means .

 

[MA-Caver]

Nice shot considering the circumstances . It's a butterfly by the way ... I think :lol:

Butterflies tend to rest with their wings up and closed together but they do open and shut them at irregular intervals. Moths keep their wings open and flat and also have more feathery antennae. Moths are mostly out at night too but that is not a hard and fast rule by any means .

Agreed it's a butterfly.

 

[tellner]

The family entomologist votes "butterfly" with the proviso that the distinction between butterflies and moths is only slightly more useful than the one between frogs and toads. Which is to say, pretty arbitrary.

 

[Tez3]

"Vanessa Atalanta" or Red Admiral butterfly.

 

[Sukerkin]

I thought it was a Red Admiral, Tez . I didn't know if they had them in America tho' so I shushed myself rather than show my ignorance :lol:.

 

[Tez3]

I thought it was a Red Admiral, Tez . I didn't know if they had them in America tho' so I shushed myself rather than show my ignorance :lol:.

I have a large ivy growing/covering up my shed walls and often get Red Admirals there quite well on into autumn, it also feeds and shelters bees over the winter.
Always liked flutterbys and when I was a Brownie I learned how to recognise as many as possible (as well as how to set fire to inanimate objects lol)

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Interesting shot. Looks like the blur is more from it focusing on something other than the butterfly with a low depth of field.

 

[Xue Sheng]

putting my vast powers of entomology to work... all I can say is....it.... is a bug