Heather Angel / Butterflies and day flying moths feed from Loofah flower (Luffa cylindrica) and pick up pollen on their legs, underside of thorax and antennae, South Sichuan Bamboo Sea, China

Ingo Arndt / Stream in "Valley of the butterflies", home of millions of Jersey tiger moths (Euplagia quadripunctaria), Rhodes, Greece

Ingo Arndt / Stream in "Valley of the butterflies", home of millions of Jersey tiger moths (Euplagia quadripunctaria), Rhodes, Greece

Ingo Arndt / Tropical moth on leaf reveals eyespots to avoid predation, Costa Rica. Sequence 2/2

Ingo Arndt / Tropical moth on leaf reveals eyespots to avoid predation, Costa Rica. Sequence 1/2

Ingo Arndt / Cryptic butterfly larva {Archaeoprepona sp} Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Ingo Arndt / Brush footed butterfly caterpillar with spines {Morpho amathonte} Costa Rica

Paul D Stewart / Illustration of Swallowtail Butterfly (Papilio machaon) on Fennel by Maria Sybella Merian 1683, from her book 'Caterpillars, Their Wondrous Transformation and Peculiar Nourishment from Flowers'. Meri...

Pal Hermansen / Collection of flying insects, including many moths, killed by accident during summer months when attracted to a lamp, Norway. Close-up Photographer of the Year 03 (2021) competition - Overall winne...

Adrian Davies / Scarlet caterpillar club (Cordyceps militaris) a parasitic fungus on the buried larvae of butterflies and moths. Sussex, England, UK, November.

Bence Mate / Close-up of unidentified catepillar, Lake Bajkal, Russia

Juergen Freund / Caterpillar crawling on a leaf, Tanjung Puting National Park, Borneo, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia

Juergen Freund / Furry caterpillar crawling up a twig. Tanjung Puting National Park, Borneo, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia

Juergen Freund / Hairy Catepillar, Atherton Tablelands, Queensland, Australia

Niall Benvie / Moth (possibly white fanfoot) against white background. France, August.

Wild Wonders of Europe / Préau / Peacock butterfly caterpillar (Inachis io) on Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) leaf, Grande-Synthe, Dunkirk, France, September 2010

Roland Seitre / Sloth Moth (Cryptoses choloepi) against sloth fur. This moth lives in the sloth fur until the animal defecates, when it lays eggs in the faeces. Aviarios del Caribe, Cahuita, Costa Rica.

Loic Poidevin / Mass of communal caterpillars, this behaviour tricks predators into thinking the caterpillars are a single, much larger, organism, Madagascar.

Florian Möllers / Large (approx 8 cm) unidentified brown moth showing Batesian leaf mimicry, Zhouzhi Nature Reserve, Qinling Mountains, Shaanxi, China, October

Juan Carlos Munoz / Entrance to the Valley of the Butterflies where large numbers of Jersey tiger moths (Euplagia quadripunctaria) can be seen resting on tree trunks, Petaloudes Valley, Rhodes island, Greece, August 2011

Tim Laman / Moth attracted to light trap in rainforest at 1650 m altitude. Foja Mountains, Papua, Indonesia, 2008. (taken during Conservation International Rapid Assessment Program expedition)

Tim Laman / Moth attracted to light trap in rainforest at 1650 m altitude. Foja Mountains, Papua, Indonesia, 2008. (taken during Conservation International Rapid Assessment Program expedition)

Tim Laman / Moth attracted to light trap in rainforest at 1650 m altitude. Foja Mountains, Papua, Indonesia, 2008. (taken during Conservation International Rapid Assessment Program expedition)

Tim Laman / A moth camouflaged on a mossy tree. 1650 m elevation in the Foja Mountains, Papua, Indonesia, 2008. (taken during Conservation International Rapid Assessment Program expedition)

Tim Laman / Moth attracted to light trap in rainforest at 1650 m altitude. Foja Mountains, Papua, Indonesia, 2008. (taken during Conservation International Rapid Assessment Program expedition)

Tim Laman / Moth attracted to light trap in rainforest at 1650 m altitude. Foja Mountains, Papua, Indonesia, 2008. (taken during Conservation International Rapid Assessment Program expedition)

Tim Laman / Moth attracted to light trap in rainforest at 1650 m altitude. Foja Mountains, Papua, Indonesia, 2008. (taken during Conservation International Rapid Assessment Program expedition)

Tim Laman / Moth attracted to light trap in rainforest at 1650 m altitude. Foja Mountains, Papua, Indonesia, 2008. (taken during Conservation International Rapid Assessment Program expedition)

Tim Laman / Moth attracted to light trap in rainforest at 1650 m altitude. Foja Mountains, Papua, Indonesia, 2008. (taken during Conservation International Rapid Assessment Program expedition)

Tim Laman / Moth attracted to light trap in rainforest at 1650 m altitude. Foja Mountains, Papua, Indonesia, 2008. (taken during Conservation International Rapid Assessment Program expedition)

Tim Laman / Moth attracted to light trap in rainforest at 1650 m altitude. Foja Mountains, Papua, Indonesia, 2008. (taken during Conservation International Rapid Assessment Program expedition)

Tim Laman / Moth attracted to light trap in rainforest at 1650 m altitude. Foja Mountains, Papua, Indonesia, 2008. (taken during Conservation International Rapid Assessment Program expedition)

Tim Laman / Moth attracted to light trap in rainforest at 1650 m altitude. Foja Mountains, Papua, Indonesia, 2008. (taken during Conservation International Rapid Assessment Program expedition)

Tim Laman / Moth attracted to light trap in rainforest at 1650 m altitude. Foja Mountains, Papua, Indonesia, 2008. (taken during Conservation International Rapid Assessment Program expedition)

Tim Laman / Moth attracted to light trap in rainforest at 1650 m altitude. Foja Mountains, Papua, Indonesia, 2008. (taken during Conservation International Rapid Assessment Program expedition)

Rolf Nussbaumer / Caterpillar (Lepidoptera) adult walking on Cowpen Daisy, Golden Crownbeard (Verbesina encelioides). Laredo, Webb County, Texas, USA, April.

Rolf Nussbaumer / Caterpillar (Lepidoptera) adult walking on Cowpen Daisy, Golden Crownbeard (Verbesina encelioides). Laredo, Webb County, Texas, USA, April.

Ernie Janes / Insect and bat specimens for sale in street market, Bangkok, Thailand

Nature Production / Dead Leaf Butterfly (Kallima inachus eucerca) camouflaged on leaves, showing blue inner wing colour, Malaysia

Jouan & Rius / Nocturnal butterfly in rainforest, Borneo, Sarawak, Malaysia

Alex Hyde / Large, spiny caterpillar camouflaged amongst plant stems in tropical rainforest, Andasibe-Mantadia National Park, Madagascar.

Stephen Dalton / Indian leaf butterfly (Kallima inachus) at rest, camouflaged as leaf

Tim Laman / Camouflaged moth on a leaf tropical rainforest, Borneo, Malaysia

Robin Chittenden / Woodland Grayling butterfly (Hipparchia fagi) or Rock Grayling (Hipparchia alcyone), resting on a rock with wings together, Vercors, France.

Stephen Dalton / Caterpillar larva of unidentified moth, Kaziranga NT, Assam, India

Stephen Dalton / Micro moths feeding on Creeping Buttercup flowers, UK

Wild Wonders of Europe / Müller / Moth and Lichen on tree trunk, Pollino National Park, Basilicata, Italy, November 2008

Tim Laman / Close-up of a head of a caterpillar with the eggs of a parasite attached to it. Mu Village vicinity, Chimbu Province, Papua New Guinea.

Tim Laman / Close-up of feet of a large caterpillar. Mu Village vicinity, Chimbu Province, Papua New Guinea.

Tim Laman / A researcher (local parataxonomist) hunting for caterpillars in the rainforest. Mu Village vicinity, Chimbu Province, Papua New Guinea. 2005

Tim Laman / A pinned moth with a live caterpillar of the same species on its host plant leaf. Mu Village vicinity, Chimbu Province, Papua New Guinea.

Tim Laman / Leaf miner moth traces on a leaf in the forest near Ohu village, Madang Province, Papua New Guinea.

Tim Laman / A leaf-rolling type caterpillar using its silk to roll a leaf for shelter. Mu Village vicinity, Chimbu Province, Papua New Guinea.

Tim Laman / Close up of Caterpillar feet. Mu Village vicinity, Chimbu Province, Papua New Guinea.

Tim Laman / A leaf-rolling type caterpillar using its silk to roll a leaf for shelter. Mu Village vicinity, Chimbu Province, Papua New Guinea.

Tim Laman / A researcher (local parataxonomist) examining a caterpillar in the rainforest. Mu Village vicinity, Chimbu Province, Papua New Guinea. 2005

Tim Laman / Traces in leaves left by larvae of leaf miner moths. Ohu Village, Madang Province, Papua New Guinea.

Tim Laman / A leaf-rolling type caterpillar using its silk to roll a leaf for shelter. Mu Village vicinity, Chimbu Province, Papua New Guinea.

Tim Laman / Close up of the feet of a large caterpillar showing claws. Mu Village vicinity, Chimbu Province, Papua New Guinea.

Tim Laman / Entomologist, Vojtech Novotny, examining moth specimens in the reference collection at the field laboratory at Mu Village, Chimbu Province, Papua New Guinea. 2005

Tim Laman / Close up of feet of a large caterpillar showing claws. Mu Village vicinity, Chimbu Province, Papua New Guinea.

Tim Laman / Detail of a box of moth specimens collected in the rainforest of Papua New Guinea. Madang, Madang Province, Papua New Guinea. 2005

Tim Laman / Close-up of a head of a caterpillar with the eggs of a parasite attached to it. Mu Village vicinity, Chimbu Province, Papua New Guinea.

Tim Laman / Detail of a box of moth specimens collected in the rainforest of Papua New Guinea. Madang, Madang Province, Papua New Guinea. 2005

Ingo Arndt / Jersey Tiger (Euplagia quadripunctaria) moths, Valley of the Butterflies, Rhodes, Greece

Ingo Arndt / Jersey Tiger (Euplagia quadripunctaria) moths, Valley of the Butterflies, Rhodes, Greece

Pete Oxford / Indian leaf butterfly {Kallima inachis}, Malaysia

George McCarthy / Small skipper butterflies {Thymelicus sylvestis} on grass, North downs, Surrey, UK

PREMAPHOTOS / Day-flying moth (Dysschema irene), a member of the tiger-striped mimicry ring, which mimics distasteful Ithomiinae and Heliconiinae butterflies in rainforest, Brazil

PREMAPHOTOS / Moth cocoon in which stinging hairs from the caterpillar have been incorporated into the silken surface as a defence, with a few dead leaves as camouflage as well, in savannah, South Africa

Nature Production / Dead Leaf Butterfly {Kallima inachus eucerca} flapping its wing, sequence 2/2, Okinawa, Japan

Nature Production / Dead Leaf Butterfly {Kallima inachus eucerca} flapping its wing, sequence 1/2, Okinawa, Japan

Hans Christoph Kappel / Pale tussock moth (Calliteara pudibunda) camouflaged on tree bark, Germany

David Kjaer / Small skipper butterfly {Thymelicus sylvestris} Wiltshire, England.

Robin Chittenden / Lulworth skipper butterfly {Thymelicus acteon} UK

Ross Hoddinott / Grizzled skipper butterfly {Pyrgus malvae} resting on plant, Durlston park, Dorset, UK.

Juergen Freund / Essex Skipper butterfly {Thymelicus lineola} Germany

Doug Wechsler / Skipper butterfly caterpillar {Hesperiidae) Hairy Santa Rosa NP, Costa Rica

Paul Hobson / Adult Dingy skipper butterfly {Erynnis tages} with wings open on grass stem, Peak District, UK.

Philippe Clement / Skipper butterfly {Hesperiidae} resting, La Brenne, France.

Jane Burton / Caterpillar (unidentified) Kenya, Africa.

Ross Hoddinott / Large skipper butterfly pair mating {Ochlodes sylvanus} Cornwall, UK

Adrian Davies / Large skipper butterfly on bracken, Wales, UK

Pete Oxford / Cryptic horned Lepidoptera caterpillar. Cloud forest, Peru

Philippe Clement / Large skipper butterfly on leaf {Ochlodes sylvanus} Belgium

Doug Wechsler / Cryptic caterpillar with toxic spines {Lepidoptera} Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador

Pete Oxford / Mass of communal Lepidopteran caterpillars, Amazonia rainforest, Ecuador, South-America

Pete Oxford / Communal caterpillars travelling en masse for protection to make predators think they are larger. Amazonia, Peru

Bernard Castelein / Large skipper butterfly {Ochlodes sylvanus} Belgium

Pete Oxford / Caterpillar larva of moth, with defensive spines, Amazonia, Ecuador