"For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool." Isa. 51:8.
Moths can be very destructive while in the caterpillar (larva) stage. Some species eat holes in clothes, fur and other things, while others damage food crops and flower gardens. However, a fully developed moth no longer harms things; some actually are helpful. A few of them never eat at all, and others have new appetites, wanting only the nectar from flowers. Flitting from one flower to another to gather nectar, they carry pollen to help pollenize flowers. Also, lovely silk thread comes from the cocoon of the silkworm moth in the Orient.
How can we tell if the pretty creatures we see are moths or butterflies? For one thing, moths usually have thicker bodies and smaller wings than butterflies. Moths fly at night-butterflies in the daytime. When resting, butterflies bring their wings together straight up from their bodies, but moths hold theirs out flat, like an airplane, or tight against their bodies.
The birth and development of moths follows the exact pattern established by the Creator when He first added them to the interesting things of His creation. There has been no change since that day, and His instruction that each generation must reproduce "after his kind" has always been followed. In the springtime they hatch as caterpillars from eggs deposited on trees, rocks, fence posts, etc. They do not remain as caterpillars very long.
Soon they spin a cocoon... inside curled leaves, under the bark of a tree, in the dark corner of a shed, or sometimes in the ground. One of the wonders of God's creation is the way a caterpillar changes inside its cocoon. In a few weeks' time it has fully developed into a moth, complete with markings and is able to fly when it escapes from its prison.
There are innumerable varieties of these interesting insects. The largest is called the atlas of India which measures as much as a foot across-from one wingtip to the other. In America the largest is the royal moth which in the beginning is a jet-black caterpillar, eating pine and hemlock needles. It eventually comes from its cocoon as a pretty six or seven-inch moth. A few of the others are the goat moth, the death's head, the tiger, the cabbage, one called puss moth, the swallowtail and a peacock. Perhaps you can think of others.
Even though moths are interesting, the caterpillar's bad habits cannot be overlooked. These habits remind us of Satan who brings evil thoughts and acts into people's lives before they are aware of the danger. That is why the Bible urges us to "lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal." Matt. 6:20. Is that where your treasures are?
If we have faith in the Lord Jesus and really desire to please Him, we need not listen to Satan. It is helpful to remember a good verse to add to our prayers: "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer." Psa. 19:14.