ID assistance, please!

[Diane Adams]

I was very proud of myself--I bought a little net & caught my first
butterfly!  Unfortunately, even though I put it in a little plastic cage
& contemplated it for around ten minutes, I still had no idea what it
was.  About 1-1/2 inches across, only saw the top briefly as it
fluttered, it seemed mostly orange with brown edges, underside of top
wing also orange edged w/brown, lower wing mostly brown, both with light
crescent shaped markings upper outer region.  A really poor
description--I did take a digital photo if anyone would like to see it. 
I'm sure it's something really common, but I couldn't find it!

Also, I recently found something white with a dark gray spot on an oak
tree.  It looked like a bird dropping & at first I thought it was a
larva.  Then I noticed that it had legs & a pattern on what appeared to
be its curled up wings.  Sure enough, it soon fluttered away. When it
was flying, it looked like a moth, but it didn't seem to have antennae. 
Again, I took a picture, if anyone would like to see it!

Diane Adams
Chester