Strange Duets
With the Harold and Maude soundtrack as motivation, I just downloaded a Cat Stevens album with a Christmas gift card (Thanks Aunt Sally!). His voice sounds strangely familiar, which bugged me for a while, until I realized who he reminded me of. I wonder if Cat Stevens and Nina Simone ever duetted; when he goes high and she goes low, it's pretty tricky for me to tell their voices apart. :-)
I'm going to set up the moth light tonight, but as I do, I have to start thinking about defining my moral moth line. Moths used to be studied by killing and dissection only. And that's the way it's mostly done, but these days there's a big no-kill movement in the butterfly world. And it's carried over to moths to a small extent. The problem with moth species, though, is that there are over 10000 in the United States alone, and many of those can only be IDed when dead.
I probably kill many moths with my vertically-windshielded Cube, so I can't take any moral high ground. But still, when I hold and look closely at a moth through a hand lens, I feel like I'm holding something magical. Which is not at all scientific of me; it's almost more of a spiritual experience of awe and appreciation for nature's complexity. So I'm happy just releasing them alive for now, and if I can't ID the species, so be it. I'm already busy learning immature gulls, small brown skippers, and high marsh plants. Old-fashioned multi-purpose fascinated-by-everything-that-moves naturalist, that's me!
And yea, I got my gray geometrid IDed by a real entomologist, not just me with a book and a bunch of hope. And he confirmed my gut instinct, Phigalia strigataria! The skills you learn to identify birds - attention to small details, patterns, and proportions - definitely pays off with insects too.
I'm going to set up the moth light tonight, but as I do, I have to start thinking about defining my moral moth line. Moths used to be studied by killing and dissection only. And that's the way it's mostly done, but these days there's a big no-kill movement in the butterfly world. And it's carried over to moths to a small extent. The problem with moth species, though, is that there are over 10000 in the United States alone, and many of those can only be IDed when dead.
I probably kill many moths with my vertically-windshielded Cube, so I can't take any moral high ground. But still, when I hold and look closely at a moth through a hand lens, I feel like I'm holding something magical. Which is not at all scientific of me; it's almost more of a spiritual experience of awe and appreciation for nature's complexity. So I'm happy just releasing them alive for now, and if I can't ID the species, so be it. I'm already busy learning immature gulls, small brown skippers, and high marsh plants. Old-fashioned multi-purpose fascinated-by-everything-that-moves naturalist, that's me!
And yea, I got my gray geometrid IDed by a real entomologist, not just me with a book and a bunch of hope. And he confirmed my gut instinct, Phigalia strigataria! The skills you learn to identify birds - attention to small details, patterns, and proportions - definitely pays off with insects too.