Butterfly and Moth

VHS cover

*Butterfly and Moth* is the fifth episode of the second season of Eyewitness. The topic is about the lifecycle, behaviour and cultural roles of butterflies and moths. The episode first aired on 13th May 1996.

*Butterfly and Moth* is based on a book that was first published in 1988, and has been republished on several occasions including in.

## Episode

### Introductory sequence

A fictional animated butterfly opens its wings and then unfolds. Each wing becomes a number of real butterflies that fly off-screen and leave a blank white background.

### Episode outline

Click here for the full transcript for Butterfly and Moth.

Butterflies and moths have captured our imaginations, inspiring art and literature. But they are far more than a pretty pair of wings, using their colours to attract a mate, deceive predators or disappear. In ancient Greek, the word psyche means both soul and butterfly, from the belief that dead souls turned into butterflies.

Butterflies and moths belong to the family Lepidoptera, meaning scale-wing. Unique among insects, they are covered with tiny scales. Like all insects, their bodies are made up of three parts. Moths evolved at least 180 million years ago, with butterflies evolving 100 million years later. Today, all over the world, there are 15,000 species of butterfly and ten times as many moths.

Humanity has been fascinated by the metamorphosis of these insects. The egg of the hero, the monarch butterfly, is introduced. While butterfly eggs vary in shape and structure, they all have a shell to protect against parasites that is still thin enough to allow water and air in. Butterflies and moths lay their eggs on the plant the caterpillar eats.

While butterflies lay their eggs discretely, in courtship they are colourful exhibitionists. Most moths court by moonlight, releasing pheromones to attract a partner. Without noses, moths detect the scent with fringed antennae. Butterflies tend to have club-shaped antenna.

Antenna shape is one way of telling a moth from a butterfly. Butterflies tend to fly by day, hold their wings upright at rest and be colourful, while moths typically fly at night, hold their wings flat and are drab, but there are exceptions. In truth, no one category separates butterflies from moths.

Six days after laying, our monarch egg hatches. To successfully grow up, they must eat voraciously. Most eat leaves, but some take wool or parchment. In turn many creatures feed on caterpillars, including humans. To protect itself, the monarch caterpillar has bright colours to warn that it is poisonous.

Caterpillars have many defences, including sharp spines, poison, frightening appearances, safety in numbers, mimicry, camouflage and hiding in ant nests or inside beans.

Ready to transform into an adult, a moth caterpillar weaves a cocoon out of silk. Silk is farmed and remains a prized material for making clothing. The bagworm caterpillar recycles wool to make its cocoons. They originally lived inside bird nests.

Only moths make silk, with butterflies growing a hardened shell instead. The chrysalis is often camouflaged. Inside, the caterpillar transforms into a butterfly. Our monarch butterfly’s chrysalis turns translucent and the colourful wings are visible. Depending on the species, the transformation can take a few days to several months.

Despite their fragile appearance, moths and butterflies are powerful fliers. Different butterflies fly in different ways, depending on whether they are poisonous or not. The reasons why moths are attracted to light is explored. The ways that butterflies protect themselves from the elements, including hibernation, are also looked at.

When butterflies and moths hatch from their pupae, their diet changes. Most feed on nectar, but some feed on fruit, sweat, tears or animal dung. The death’s-head hawkmoth eats honey, while the vampire moth drinks blood.

Besides providing them with flight, wings are a butterfly or moth’s best defence. They can advertise their poison with bright colours, or mimic other poisonous species, and have either eyespots or camouflage. The peppered moth changes its colour depending on whether it lives in the country or the city.

After eighteen days, our monarch butterfly emerges from its chrysalis. It pumps blood into its wings, hanging upside-down so gravity can assist. The monarch is one of the most amazing butterflies, migrating from Mexico to as far as Canada or sometimes even Europe. Around the world there are thousands of species of moths and butterflies. As long as they unfold their wings they will continue to beguile and adorn the natural world.

## Animal species filmed for the programme

### Studio footage

* Peleides blue morpho butterfly, *Morpho peleides*
* Monarch butterfly, *Danaus plexippus*
* Paper kite butterfly, *Idea leuconoe*
* Garden tiger moth, *Arctia caja*
* Red admiral butterfly, *Vanessa atalanta*
* Sapho longwing butterfly, *Heliconius sapho*
* Great eggfly butterfly, *Hypolimnas bolina*
* Emperor swallowtail butterfly, *Papilio hesperus*
* False tiger moth, *Dysphania militaris*
* Common rose butterfly, *Pachliopta aristolochiae*
* Postman butterfly, *Heliconius sp*.
* Vapourer moth, *Orgyia antiqua*
* Death’s-head hawkmoth, *Acherontia atropos*
* Blue pansy butterfly, *Junonia orithya*
* Common crow butterfly, *Euploea core*
* Green-banded urania moth, *Urania leilus*
* Lime swallowtail butterfly, *Papilio demoleus*
* Giant owl butterfly, *Caligo memnon*
* Chinese oak silk moth, *Antheraea pernyi*
* Citrus swallowtail butterfly, *Papilio demodocus*
* Tawny owl, *Strix aluco*
* Madagascan moon moth, *Argema mittrei*

### Stock footage

* Monarch butterfly, *Danaus plexippus*
* Postman butterfly, *Heliconius sp*.
* Swallowtail butterfly, *Papilio sp*.
* Common green birdwing butterfly, *Ornithoptera priamus*
* False tiger moth, *Dysphania militaris*
* Hercules moth, *Coscinocera hercules*
* Plain tiger butterfly, *Danaus chrysippus*
* Winter moth, *Operophtera brumata*
* Common starling, *Sturnus vulgaris*
* Willow warbler, *Phylloscopus trochilus*
* Channel-billed cuckoo, *Scythrops novaehollandiae*
* Red weaver ant, *Oecophylla longinoda*
* Assassin bug, Reduviidae
* Tufted capuchin monkey, *Cebus apella*
* Eurasian blue tit, *Parus caeruleus*
* Bogong moth, *Agrotis infusa*
* Hickory horned devil, *Citheronia regalis*
* Puss moth, *Cerura vinula*
* Large white butterfly, *Pieris brassicae*
* Pine processionary moth, *Thaumetopoea pityocampa*
* Large blue butterfly, *Phengaris arion*
* European red ant, *Myrmica rubra*
* Bagworm, Psychidae
* Peleides blue morpho butterfly, *Morpho peleides*
* Zebra longwing butterfly, *Heliconius charithonia*
* Troides birdwing butterfly, *Troides helena*
* Hovering hawkmoth, Sphingidae
* Magpie moth, *Abraxas grossulariata*
* Mediterranean house gecko, *Hemidactylus turcicus*
* Small tortoiseshell butterfly, *Aglais urticae*
* Peacock butterfly, *Aglais io*
* Paper kite butterfly, *Idea leuconoe*
* Emperor swallowtail butterfly, *Papilio hesperus*
* Flame butterfly, *Dryas iulia*
* Yellow-spotted river turtle, *Podocnemis unifilis*
* Western honeybee, *Apis mellifera*
* Citrus swallowtail butterfly, *Papilio demodocus*
* Common swallowtail butterfly, *Papilio machaon*
* Purple emperor butterfly, *Apatura iris*
* Painted lady butterfly, *Vanessa cardui*
* Pearl-bordered fritillary, *Boloria euphrosyne*
* Marbled white butterfly, *Melanargia galathea*
* Polyphemus moth, *Antheraea polyphemus*
* Green-and-golden bell frog, *Ranoidea aurea*
* Brimstone butterfly, *Gonepteryx rhamni*
* Indian leaf butterfly, *Kallima inachus*
* Peppered moth, *Biston betularia*

## Stock footage sources

Wildlife on One: Marmot Mountain (1985) - Common swallowtail on thistle flower

## Credits

* Director - Derek Hall
* Writer - Brian Meehl
* Music - Guy Dagul
* Graphics Director - Dean Stockton
* Graphics Design - Stan Peplinski
* Camera - Sean Bobbitt and Matthew Poynter
* Specialist Photography - Science Pictures
* Set Design - John Brace and Mark Dadswell
* Production Co-ordinator - Nicola Melluish
* Production Assistants - Tilly Colaco and Quin Jessop
* Researcher - Sue Hartridge Gray
* Archive Researchers - Zimena Percival, Philippa Graves and Anuschka de Rohan
* Graphics - Simon Kilroe, Kim Aldis and Kate Hood
* Editors
	+ Offline - Mark Fox
	+ Online - Richard Wilding
* Dubbing Mixer - Steve Cookman

## Making this programme

While the programmes try to follow the books as closely as possible, the Eyewitness Museum needs music. The entire soundtrack was created on a computer, with the notes able to be played back with any instrument. Once the musician is happy with the composition, it is sent to the dubbing theatre where the music, voiceover, sound effects and picture are brought together. When the Chinese dragon came to the Eyewitness studio, they brought their own percussion with them. For the crew it was a rare opportunity to sit back and enjoy the show. Despite the energetic performance, the Chinese dragon made only a brief appearance. The graceful dance of the invisible lady was slightly less dignified in reality, as everything had to be blue for the dress to be the focus, including the dancer. It was not easy for her to get things right with her head wrapped in blue cloth. When slowed down in post-production, the final effect is magical.

During the poisonous caterpillars segment, when a flashing siren appears on the screen, a stock sound effect called *Warning Buzzer, Space Alarm Type* plays. This sound effect was released by American sound effects company The Hollywood Edge in 1990 and is best-known for being the default alarm ringtone for iPod/Mac.

## Home media releases

As well as being released on VHS, Butterfly and Moth was also released as part of the DVD release in the USA.

Butterfly and Moth America-release DVD cover

**Writing staff**: Anne MacLeod • Ben Southwell • Ben Steiner • Brian Meehl • David Hanson • David Stafford • David Helton • George Bloom • Lynette Singer • Mike Tomlinson • Paul Thomas • Stan Cullimore
**Directors**: Gavin Maxwell • Justine Kershaw • David Hutt • Andrew Jackson • Justin Hardy • Ludo Graham • Jerry Foulkes • Derek Hall • Sanjida O'Connell • Caius Julyan • Bonni Cohen • Leanne Pooley • Edwina Vardey • Alexandra Beazley • Sam Hodgkin • Karen Walsh • Jack Weber • Richard Simkin • Alex Hearle • Brian Cummins • Ben Southwell
**Composers**: Guy Michelmore (season one) • Guy Dagul (seasons two and three)

**Season One**: Cat • Fish • Horse • Dog • Jungle • Bird • Amphibian • Insect • Shark • Elephant • Reptile • Dinosaur • Skeleton
**Season Two**: Desert • Tree • Ape • Mammal • **Butterfly and Moth** • Volcano • Rock and Mineral • Seashore • Pond and River • Weather • Arctic and Antarctic • Prehistoric Life • Shell
**Season Three**: Flight • Bear • Sight • Island • Survival • Mountain • Monster • Human Machine - Plant • Ocean • Planets • Life • Natural Disasters