By far the largest and oldest group in the order Lepidoptera, moths are usually overshadowed by their flashier cousins, the butterflies. But they are finally getting their due in Winged Tapestries: Moths at Large, a photo exhibition now open at the Museum.

They may seem as delicate as gossamer, but moths and butterflies routinely survive the cold, harsh weather of New York winters. This post, adapted from A Seasonal Guide to New York City's Invertebrates, written by Elizabeth A. Johnson, explains a bit about how the four-stage life cycle of these insects helps them survive the cold.

Witness the longest insect migration on earth—and the decades-long passion of one scientist—as the mystery of the monarchs unfolds in Flight of the Butterflies, which opens this Saturday, January 5, in the Museum's LeFrak IMAX Theater. Watch the trailer. 

Now in its fourteenth season at the Museum, The Butterfly Conservatory: Tropical Butterflies Alive in Winter! draws thousands of visitors each year, transporting them to a tropical ecosystem lush with vivid, live flowers and filled with hundreds of spectacular butterflies and moths. But while the flora and fauna are quite real, the conservatory is the product of careful planning and design by the Museum’s Exhibition Department, which creates a “natural” garden using artificial lighting,precipitation, and climate control.

When 12-year-old Katelyn took a field trip to a butterfly exhibit, she wondered why butterflies chose certain flowers over others when it came time to feed.

The question led Katelyn to conduct an experiment that tracked painted lady butterflies’ flower preferences. Her project, which earned her a 2011 Young Naturalist Award, is described in the essay Butterfly Buffet: The Feeding Preferences of Painted Ladies.