I’m Prejudiced – Insect-wise

This just dawned on me today. While I enjoy watching butterflies, I’m pretty darned uninterested in moths. You know, there are way more species of moths than of butterflies, because they developed long before butterflies did.

My most recent moth sighting is this Green Cloverworm or Black Snout moth (Hypena scabra)

And there are numerous beautiful moths, many of which live right here in Texas.

Twin-spotted Sphinx moth (Smerinthus jamaicensis)

And I’m not prejudiced against moths just before many of them look so similar to human eyes. Heck, most deer look alike but I still find them beautiful.

A moth

I had to ponder for quite a while, but when I walked into my office and looked around it hit me. Butterflies never mess with my sh**. Moths do. First, they show up at night and flutter in my face. I hate that.

Lunate Zale moth (Zale lunata)

Second, those nasty pantry moths have ruined my food repeatedly. I’m so glad I discovered those pheromones in boxes that cause them to die out.

Pantry moth or Indian Meal moth (Plodia interpunctella) grr.

Third, and worst, is the fact that clothing moths infected my house (before moving here) and ruined probably thousands of dollars of wool yarn and handmade clothing that took me hours and hours to make. Yep. I don’t like those mofos.

I’m not even sharing a clothing moths photo. This one is kind of pretty in its drab way. Brown-shaded Gray (Iridopsis defectaria)

I should probably just be prejudiced against certain moths and not generalize, right? Like I don’t condone how a large percentage of white American humans think, but I don’t feel annoyed at all of us. Hmmm. An analogy.

We all look alike anyway. Photo from Pixels.

I’ll work on loving the benign moths. And understanding that the ones who make me upset aren’t doing it directed toward me. They’re just being moths. Perhaps it will do me good to try to remember that humans who upset me are just being humans, and that it’s human nature to upset “the other.”

Not my photo, but that’s a pretty moth.


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Author: Sue Ann (Suna) Kendall

The person behind The Hermits' Rest blog and many others. I'm a certified Texas Master Naturalist and love the nature of Milam County. I manage technical writers in Austin, help with Hearts Homes and Hands, a personal assistance service, in Cameron, and serve on three nonprofit boards. You may know me from La Leche League, knitting, iNaturalist, or Facebook. I'm interested in ALL of you!

2 thoughts on “I’m Prejudiced – Insect-wise”

  1. I really hate pantry moths. We once lost a cabinet full of food to them at a time when it was financially difficult to replace it all. However, I realize they are just trying to survive like the rest of us .

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Yes. I have lost all my staples twice. And you can’t prevent them from coming in, since they hitch rides on groceries, especially in our house, dog food.

      Like

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