Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources Reading Comprehension Worksheets Animal Themes Insects Invertebrates

Is It a Butterfly or a Moth? Animal Themes

---

Is It a Butterfly or a Moth?
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 6 to 8
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	6.2

Vocabulary

challenging words:

judgments, feather-like, skippers, straw-like, coils, mainly, moth, subtle, between, however, such, contrast, incorrect, neither, skipper, similar

---

Print Is It a Butterfly or a Moth?

Print Is It a Butterfly or a Moth?  (font options, pick words for additional puzzles, and more)

Quickly Print

Quickly print reading comprehension

Proofreading Activity

Print a proofreading activity

Other Languages
     Spanish: ¿Es una Mariposa o una Polilla?

---

Is It a Butterfly or a Moth?

---

¹     Can you tell the difference between a butterfly and a moth? At first glance, the two insects have identical body structures. They both have one pair of antennae, two pairs of wings, and three pairs of legs. Even their diet is the same. Both of them love drinking sugary liquids (such as nectar) through a long, straw-like feeding tube called a proboscis. When a butterfly or a moth is not eating, it coils up its proboscis and stores it neatly under its head.
 
²     However, there are some subtle differences between the two winged insect species.
 
³     

• A butterfly is usually more brightly colored than a moth.
• A butterfly has a small, rounded knob at the tip of its antenna. A moth doesn't have the knob, and its antenna is either straight or feather-like.
• We often see a butterfly during the day and a moth during the night.
• A butterfly likes to rest with its wings folded upright over its back. A moth prefers to hold its wings flat.
• A butterfly has a long, slender body. A moth, in contrast, has a short, plump, hairy body.

Paragraphs 4 to 6:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable

---

Weekly Reading Books

Create Weekly Reading Books Prepare for an entire week at once!

---

Feedback on Is It a Butterfly or a Moth?

Leave your feedback on Is It a Butterfly or a Moth?   (use this link if you found an error in the story)

---

Animal Themes

Animal Themes

---

Insects

Insects

---

Invertebrates

Invertebrates

---

More Lessons

Butterflies and Moths Theme

Rain Forest

---

Animals

Amphibians         Birds         Deserts         Fish         Freshwater         Grasslands         Insects

Invertebrates         Mammals         Oceans         Polar Regions         Rain Forest         Reptiles

Copyright © 2025 edHelper