Loo Lepidoptera

That moth outside my kitchen door
She bonkers
For that bare bulb
Flyin' 'round in circles
Bashin' in her exoskull
And out in the woods
She navigates
Fine by the moon
But get her 'round a lightbulb
And she's doomed

Whenever I see a moth banging against a light source at night I think of this Ani Difranco lyric. I'm getting excited about moths these days, primarily because beautiful ones keep appearing in the employee bathroom at night. It's got my appetite all kinds of whet. Pretty soon I'm going to work out a moth trap (essentially a white sheet and bright light strung up in the forest) so as to come across them somewhat more efficiently. The literature for moth ID is surprisingly sparse; I haven't been able to identify a single species that I've found so far. It's working out to be a good lesson for me actually, to pursue an aspect of nature without defining it. Past the names and life cycles and taxonomy, there's just beauty.