Talk:Moth/@comment-31075341-20170805171354/@comment-26440657-20170805183643

To answer your questions, technically, I think butterflies are not a type of moth, moths aren't a type of butterfly either, both of them are under the order of insects called "Lepidoptera" and they are closely related. Moths actually came first though, most people assume butterflies came first.

As for the dust part, it's probably just based on what people call the dust that comes from these insects in general, "butterfly dust". Moths have dust too but people recognize butterflies more so butterfly dust was the name that stuck. The dust is actually very tiny scales of the wings that naturally sheds off, especially when people touch their wings.