Winter Moths

 

Winter moths? Really? I'm sorry, I've never heard of winter moths. Moths are nighttime butterflies in my book, but these guys have inundated the area … in December, no less … in the daytime and they're all over everything ... including Lin's house, doors, windows, everywhere. They're freaky, if you know what I mean. They don't belong here … especially so late in the season, in the cold, and in such great numbers. There's actually a National Moth Week celebrated in July. In July, moths are okay. December … definitely not.

We've seen lots of moths in our travels. The largest were called Money Bats in the Bahamas, aka cicadas. Jelly relished catching them at night and bringing them into the galley. They were a novelty at the time and certainly not in great numbers.

We've observed other moths, but usually at night and usually fluttering around the lights. These are normal moth things to do and very acceptable.

These drab winter moths, however, just lay around all day long, clinging to the windows and clapboards of the house, right out there in the open and do nothing. They don't even move when you get near them. There are flocks of them … herds... clouds … what the heck is the collective noun for too many moths anyway?

According to Wiki, this “abundant” species is native to Europe and the Near East and one of few moths that is active even in the dead of winter. They found their way to North America, more specifically Nova Scotia, in the 1930's. They're in several coastal provinces and states now in “infestation” numbers. They're not particularly good critters … they're defoliators causing significant damage to trees and orchards. I know everything has its place on this earth and I apologize to all the moth lovers out there, but geez...