Skip to main content
moth

moth

71 1.0
An insect like a butterfly that flies at night, often with feathery antennae
  • noun
  • /mɔθ/
translation icon : polilla
  • Now scientists understand that moths are important nocturnal pollinators.
  • a gypsy moth
  • butterflies and moths
  • moth caterpillars

Like we don't know where that moth starts its life.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • And that is because moths smell by their antennae.

  • Those eggs will actually hatch inside of the moth or the Caterpillar.

  • Is there a moth in here?

  • I know the birds are right here and I know the moth is right here.

  • A bat can probably sense a moth flying several feet away from it.

  • Apparently, she saw a moth.

  • Drawn to me like a moth to the flame.

  • And all those moths with no other place to die.

  • The moths around the light bulb here are from the thousand wing ceiling in venice, Italy.

  • At night, I noticed a moth fluttering around the porch light.

Compounds

gypsy moth
  • NSFW
1 7.4

A large moth from Europe whose caterpillar eats many tree leaves and can leave trees bare

1 7.9

A large pale green moth with long tail-like back wings and a yellow crescent on each front wing

1 6.7

A houseplant with large flat flowers and wide shiny leaves

hawk moth
  • Specialized
1 6.5

A large night insect with long wings that hovers to drink flower nectar

io moth
  • US
1 9.4

A large yellow moth with big eye spots on its hind wings whose caterpillars have stinging spines

1 8.4

A large moth that hovers like a hummingbird to feed from flowers

8.7

A small moth whose larvae eat wax and honeycomb in beehives

bombycid moth
  • Indian
9.9

A medium-sized Asian moth whose caterpillars eat mulberry leaves and make silk

A small brown and white moth whose caterpillars eat the leaves of fruit and shade trees

A small moth whose larvae eat and damage dried plant goods like cacao beans and tobacco

9.9

A large moth in North America with red-brown wings and eye-like spots whose caterpillars eat tree leaves

A small moth whose young eat wool carpets and make holes

A small moth whose young caterpillars live in little tubes and eat fabrics

8.1

A large European moth with bright red and black wings whose caterpillars eat ragwort

9.9

A small grey moth whose young caterpillars eat the inside of apples and walnuts, damaging the fruit

codling moth
  • Specialized
8.9

A small grey insect whose young caterpillars eat the inside of apples and damage fruit

A small insect whose young eat wool and make holes in clothes

A small moth whose caterpillars tunnel into corn stems and damage crops

cynthia moth
  • Specialized
9.9

A large moth from Asia whose caterpillars eat a tree called ailanthus

A large moth with a skull-shaped dark mark on its back

A small moth that people breed to make silk

8.1

A creamy white Asian moth bred by people whose caterpillars make most silk

7.9

A large moth with patterned, partly see-through wings that lives in forests of Europe and Asia

A small moth whose larvae eat stored grains like wheat or corn and damage them

A small insect whose young eat kernels of stored grain

almond moth
  • Specialized
8.4

A small moth whose caterpillars eat and make webs in stored nuts and grain

9.8

A moth with white, branching marks on its front wings whose caterpillars eat grass

arctiid moth
  • Specialized
9.9

A moth with a thick body and broad wings that often has bright stripes or spots and hairy caterpillars

atlas moth
  • Indian
8.1

A very large moth from Asia with wide patterned wings often kept for its silk

A small moth whose young caterpillars make holes in corn stems and damage crops

8.6

An insect whose caterpillars eat and make webs in dried figs and other stored fruits

lappet moth
  • Specialized
9.5

A medium-sized hairy moth with caterpillars that feed on leaves

lasiocampid moth
  • Specialized
9.9

A medium-sized moth with a thick, hairy body and feathery antennae

A small moth whose larvae eat stored flour and grain

moth bean
  • Indian
8.2

A small plant that makes edible seeds and grows well in hot, dry places

moth miller
  • Specialized
9.7

A small moth with powdery wings that look like flour dust

moth mullein
  • Specialized
9.9

A tall European plant with smooth leaves and yellow or purple flowers often found as a weed in North America

A type of orchid with broad glossy leaves and large pretty flowers

A sweater with many small holes often made by moths

gelechiid moth
  • Specialized
9.9

A small moth whose caterpillars eat and damage crops like potatoes

giant silkworm moth
  • Specialized
7.7

A large moth with big wings whose caterpillars make silk

geometrid moth
  • Specialized
9.3

A thin moth with broad wings whose caterpillar is called an inchworm

A small flying insect with a white furry body and a yellow tuft at the tail

gracilariid moth
  • Specialized
9.9

A small moth whose caterpillars make winding tunnels inside leaves

A small insect whose caterpillars eat stored grain and damage food

heliothis moth
  • Specialized
9.9

A medium-sized insect whose caterpillar eats crops like corn and tomato and causes damage

A moth that hovers like a hummingbird while it drinks nectar from flowers

imperial moth
  • Specialized
9.9

A large moth in North America with yellow wings and brown marks whose caterpillars eat maple and pine leaves

noctuid moth
  • Specialized
9.7

A medium-sized, dull-coloured moth that flies at night and whose caterpillars often damage crops

pyralid moth
  • Specialized
9.8

A small flying insect with a thin body and long legs whose caterpillars eat crops

raisin moth
  • Specialized
9.9

A small insect whose caterpillars eat and damage dried fruit

A medium-sized dull colored moth active at night whose caterpillars often eat crops

pernyi moth
  • Specialized
9.9

A large Chinese moth that makes brown silk for cloth

A very large yellow-brown moth with eye-like spots on its back wings

potato moth
  • Specialized
5.9

A small greyish-brown moth whose caterpillar eats and damages potatoes

potato tuber moth
  • Specialized
8.2

A small grey-brown insect whose caterpillars eat and damage potato crops

saturniid moth
  • Specialized
9.9

Large insect with bright wide wings whose caterpillars make silk cocoons and which often has eye-shaped wing marks

A small moth whose young eat carpets and other wool items

An insect whose caterpillars spin large silk tents in trees

A medium-sized moth with bright patterned wings and a caterpillar called a woolly bear

tineid moth
  • Specialized
9.9

A small yellowish moth whose caterpillars eat wool, fur and other animal fibers

tineoid moth
  • Specialized
9.9

A small dull-coloured moth that has jaws for chewing food

tobacco moth
  • Specialized
8.6

A small insect whose young eat tobacco and other dried plants

tortricid moth
  • Specialized
9.9

A small moth whose caterpillars roll leaves and eat fruit

A moth whose caterpillars make silk threads used to make cloth

tussock moth
  • Specialized
8.6

A dull colored moth whose caterpillars have tufts of hair and eat leaves of many trees

A small pale insect whose young make webs and eat clothes

A small moth that makes silk shelters on plants to live and protect its eggs

A small insect whose caterpillars make webs on plants and live inside them while eating leaves

8.3

A moth whose young caterpillars eat the honeycomb in beehives and damage bee colonies

A hairy caterpillar with a thick, fuzzy coat and dark bands

How Small

microlepidopteran
  • Specialized
9.9
moth
71 1.0
giant silkworm moth
  • Specialized
7.7

Surface Forms

moth singular
moths plural

Etymology

The word moth comes from an old English word mothe that meant a small insect 'that eats cloth'. So think of 'moth-eaten' to remember that moths are often night insects that can nibble clothes and flutter near lights.