Peter Vander Lugt, age 11 of Woodstock, Minn.# for his question:

How many different butterflies live in North America?

Altogether, about 800 different butterflies live north of Mexico. Along with the moths, they belong in the insect order Lepidoptera, a name which means the scaley winged ones. The beautiful wings of these insects are covered with microscopic scales which reflect the light and give the creatures their beautiful colors.

For every type of butterfly in North America, there are more than 100 different moths. In a Lepidoptera collection, you will need to keep the butterflies separate from the moths and to know the several families into which the butterflies are divided. Butterflies have longer and mare slender bodies than do the moths. Their antennas are slender and tipped with small knobs, while the moths have fuzzy antennae. Moths rest with wings out flat while butterflies fold their wings. Most moths fly only at night. Butterflies are out during the sunny daytime.