Welcome to Mothing 101
Welcome to Mothing 101: Various moth-topics selected by me, a non-entomologist interested in random stuff, mythology and symbolism and inspired by National Moth Week. Are you fluttering with excitement over this week-long moth-focused event? This year it runs from July 20th to the 28th.
The National Moth Week website has some basic education about moths and suggestions to help the citizen scientist make the most of observing moths and setting up events. I’m keen to try out some of these techniques and see if I can photograph anything interesting in my local park.
Why moths
I’m not going to lie. If a moth flutters by my head, I’m probably going to scare the living daylights out of you when I shriek and wave my arms about like I’m fending off a swarm of evil. Over reaction? Yes. Am I scared that a moth is going to eat me? No. What am I afraid of? Not sure… perhaps the element of suprise when something unexpectedly flutters at the corner of my peripheral vision?
But I prefer my bugs outside, not touching me and preferably on the other side of my camera lens. The camera must give me courage. When I’m photographing insects, I’m much braver and much calmer. Taking photos and focusing (haha camera pun) on getting a good shot might remove the fear. But the fear of wrecking my camera from panicking probably keeps me in check.
As a paranormal romance writer and an artist, I’m interested in learning about various animals to create more realistic creatures of my own. But the symbolism, folklore, and culture surrounding moths fascinate me. The idea of National Moth Week amused me, and soon I went haring off down the research rabbit hole.
It’s a moth’s world
What’s the first question you ask when you start researching something? For me, it’s “how many are there?” The world is full of moths. Butterflies are beautiful, but it’s a moth’s world. According to the Smithsonian, there are over nine times more moth species than butterfly species (160,000 to 17,500). That’s an overwhelming number, and the research idea suddenly became daunting. I needed a way to narrow my scope, but still have fun.
I decided to focus on answers to my most pressing questions and further filter things down to moths where I live, probably in an annotated listicle format. Because I’m a writer, I didn’t just want to focus on the biology of moths, but also on their symbolism and role in folklore and culture.
What’s the difference between a butterfly and a moth? How many types of moths are there? What kind of moths are in Japan? What is the biggest moth near me? How big is the world’s biggest moth? Do moths only fly at night? When do moths appear in the geological timeline? Are moths poisonous? Do moths eat meat? What role do moths play in the ecosystem? And since I live in Japan, it’s a great chance to learn some moth words.
The Mothing 101 Curriculum
My Mothing 101 series will cover a variety of questions, and this post will function as an index for all the posts so you can skip to the topics that interest you most. Check back here as links will update as the various posts go live. I hope you will enjoy my version of a deep dive into mothdom.
- Moth vs Butterflies: Your VERY Basic Guide
- Moth Superfamilies: What kind of moths are there, anyway?
- Moths In Japan: The most common moths you’ll find here and Japanese vocabulary
- Moths, Myths and Magic
- Cryptids: The Mothman? Mothra?
- Moth Melange: Random moth questions I couldn’t fit into another category
- Moths in Pop Culture: Mothcore and some other groups
All of these creatures could have their own deeeeep dive and this article is really meant for skimming the surface. I try to be accurate in my research but there is so much to cover and I’m not an entomologist or shooting for a PhD. If I have any incorrect information, please let me know. I’m happy to make changes.
Images based on resources from Magic Vector Collection