Today’s interesting fact has to do with moths.

Moths are closely related to butterflies and are in the same order, Lepidoptera.

There are thought to be between 150,000 and 250,000 species of moths in the world, perhaps 10 times as many butterfly species.

Most are nocturnal but some work at twilight or during the day.

Some moths can be easily identified when in caterpillar form and others are easily identified as adults, but many are so similar that the only way to properly identify them is to scan their genetics, which is time consuming, and as most species moths have not had their genes analysed yet, pointless; or to dissect their genitals, which involves killing the moth.

Most moth species have genitals that are completely different, with male and female parts fitting together in one specific way, thus preventing breeding with incompatible species.